A Great Creation
by feelinglucky1502
Summary: Sci-Fi/Modern AU. Pertemis. Percy, or Project #2e is a product of his "father's" misery. He was created in a lab, and now he is to be sent out into the world. But he knows nothing outside the lab, so Artemis, a kindergarten teacher, is tasked with showing him how to navigate our complex, and sometimes beautiful world. But things get complicated when he develops feelings for her.
1. Once Upon a Time

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A MAJOR HUGE DISCLAIMER. I AM NOT GENIUS ENOUGH TO COME UP WITH THE ENTIRETY OF THE PLOT. If you read Winter Woods, a webtoon, you will notice many similarities. I added and subtracted many elements, and wanted to deviate as much as I can. That being said, Frankenstein stories and plots are so common it's hard to stray from the main idea. I just wanted to see my favorite couple in this scenario. If you haven't noticed, I love sci-fi. And yes, I'm basically abandoning Breakout unless it has some crazy revival.**

Once upon a time, there was a boy. He was an unusual boy. His classmates in school said he was strange and antisocial when asked about him. In fact, he was never heard from at all. His face was buried in books, as if he was studying for a test that would never come up. He always won at the science fair, coming up with creations such as robotic arms and legs. But he never said a word. Not to anyone, including his teachers.

No one knew what he came home to. No one ever saw his parents, he was not picked up by anyone. He disappeared around the corner and was not seen again until the next morning.

He lived in a cardboard box by the road. He did not know who his parents were or if they were even alive. What he did know was either way they had abandoned him. _I have no friends, no parents, no family. I am alone._ He looked up to the sky. _Someday, I won't be alone any longer._

He went to Harvard and graduated with a master's degree in biology and anthropology. There he met the most beautiful woman and he spoke, for perhaps the first time to her. They married and she became pregnant.

A tragedy struck this boy again. His wife, the only person he had ever spoken to, died in childbirth and so had the baby. He locked himself in his house and he wasn't seen for three years. When he emerged, he had a team assembled and he had birthed the most wild idea. _My wife and child are dead. I have no family again. I am lonely again. I will_ not _be alone again._

 _I will create a family of my own._


	2. A Scientist and a Teacher

"Do you think Dr. Jackson's going to complete his project today?" the woman in white asked another woman in a white lab coat. While they did do work in the office, they only knew Dr. Jackson was working on a revolutionary project and nothing else. They collected different things for him, all kinds of strange things. The blonde woman watched Dr. Jackson as he passed. "I want to see it. I want to see what he's working on."

The brunette woman next to her shrugged. "We're only interns. I doubt he'd allow that. I heard he barely even allows his partners in. They are only there to test on some…things."

The blonde's eyebrows drew together. "Test what kind of things?"

The brunette leaned closer, not wanting the secret to be heard, if Dr. Jackson knew that she knew this information; she was a dead woman. "The project's abilities. Its limits. Its possibilities."

The blonde shuddered at the thought. "What do you mean by abilities? That doesn't make any sense. Is he creating life or something?"

The brunette shrugged and pressed herself against the wall. "I don't know. But we both know Dr. Jackson's a genius. He could probably do something crazy impossible like create life."

"Create life? Really? What are you smoking Piper, creating life is not some walk in the park. It's not simply just there to be created!" the blonde crossed her arms over her chest. Creating life was not possible, not in any way. Piper shook her head. "Don't yell at me, Annabeth, I'm not the one trying to create life. It's that psycho of a man on the other side of this building."

It was not a secret that Dr. Jackson had gone insane after his three years of solitary confinement. He experienced frequent episodes of extreme anger, ones where he would throw glass beakers on the ground and shred papers after tearing them apart. Those were the worst, it would set back their studies weeks and they learned to back things electronically. They always kept the server room locked from him.

Then there were the times when he would sit in his chair in the office and he would say nothing but his late wife's name no matter what was asked of him. "Oh, and that one time he ordered us to dig up his wife's corpse? That was so…" Annabeth shivered violently, "Vile, and sick."

Piper nodded. "Really sick."

"I don't really want to know what he needed such a thing for," Annabeth took a sip of her water from the cooler. "It's just disturbs me and all."

Piper smoothed her jacket down. "Whatever it is, or was, he was pretty adamant that we retrieve it, so it was pretty important."

Annabeth nodded in agreement and dumped the rest of her water down her throat. "Whether it means I have to sneak or schmooze my way in, I'm going to see that project. My curiosity has been getting the better of me, if you know what I mean. I've been wondering what's behind those double doors for a while. We're creating something that we don't even really know about."

"That's how everyone in this lab feels, Annabeth, that's how everyone feels." Piper smiled at her and threw away her own paper cup before sauntering off to the parking places because Dr. Jackson needed new equipment and she was tasked to buy them. Annabeth watched her leave. She tied her hair up into a ponytail and marched towards her supervisor.

The laboratory was like an office and laboratory smashed into one. There were cubicles where intelligent scientists, such as biologists, anthropologists, pathologists, and surgeons all worked under the same roof for Dr. Jackson's project. The cubicles were blessed with bright fluorescent lights that were so amazing if you stared too long at them you'd get red spots in your eyes. Some people were working on computers, others were completely engulfed in their notebooks, trying to complete the task Dr. Jackson had given them.

Annabeth made her way for her professor's station.

"Mrs. Katz," Annabeth said as she approached the woman at the desk. She had mouse brown hair and thick black glasses that dominated her facial features. Mrs. Katz was sorting her papers out. "Are you familiar with Dr. Jackson?"

Mrs. Katz looked up from her paperwork. "Always blunt, Ms. Chase. And what would you gain from my acquaintance with Dr. Jackson?"

"I want to know," Annabeth took a deep breath, "What's behind those doors." She pointed to the double doors that Dr. Jackson most frequently entered and every once in a while the rest of the team. Mrs. Katz opened her mouth to say something, but Annabeth beat her to the chase. "I know what you're about to say, it's classified. But don't you think I deserve to know what I've been working hard for almost a year now? I've devoted a lot of time and effort towards this project and I have not one iota of what it is."

"You are in the same boat as many of us," Mrs. Katz said, taking her glasses off and rubbing them with her shirt. "I have been working twice as hard as you and I have been working on genetic algorithms for three years. I don't know what it's for, but, at least I know I am contributing to a genius such as Dr. Jackson."

"You sound like you're a member of a cult," Annabeth protested, "Shouldn't you have the right to know what in the world we're working for? It's like blindly putting down cards in a game you don't know which one you're playing, you don't know exactly what you're searching for, or your goals."

"Maybe," Mrs. Katz replied, "But I don't control Dr. Jackson, _his_ brain does. There's nothing I can do that will make him tell anyone in this laboratory what his project is about, even when he's finished, which is rumored to be today, he probably won't reveal anything. Now let me return to my work, Ms. Chase, I've got a lot to do."

Annabeth sighed as she walked away. Even Mrs. Katz didn't know and she was one of the only ones Dr. Jackson talked to. That man had some serious trust issues. "Genetic algorithms that seems like a dreary job," Annabeth muttered to herself. The epiphany hit her like a slap in the face. She resolved that she would figure out all of the jobs people did in the laboratory, and piece them together. It would tell her what Dr. Jackson was working on. Piper collected lab tools such as microscopes, scalpels, and sewing needles? Annabeth shook her head. That was strange. Mrs. Katz worked on assembling genetic algorithms. Those two didn't fit together at all, or make any sense. And what Annabeth did was do a bunch of odd jobs for Dr. Jackson, such as digging up his wife's grave. Annabeth shuddered again.

This wouldn't be long at all, not at all.

Meanwhile, a girl the same age as Annabeth stumbled into her kindergarten classroom, embarrassed she was late to her own class. Her morning had been terrible, her phone was dead and she had forgotten to charge it so it didn't ring the alarm like it should've. The poor woman didn't even have time to shower, or anything. She couldn't brush her hair or eat breakfast or put on her makeup…oh God she was a mess. A hot mess.

Artemis was afraid to look in any mirror throughout the rest of the day. The good news was that kindergarteners didn't give a flying potato about what she looked like. Artemis loved kids. A lot. When she entered the room, a whopping ten minutes late, the screaming and yelling ceased and their substitute left.

"Why weren't you here, Ms. Phoebe?" her favorite student, Frank asked in broken English. His mastery of the English language had not yet developed for him. Artemis smiled at him and patted Frank on the head.

"Well Frank, the almighty Ms. Phoebe made a big mistake." The whole room full of kids gasped and Artemis chuckled. They thought that she was invincible and incapable of failure. Frank looked at her in wonder. "How?"

"My alarm, Frank. My alarm. We're going to start by talking about the seasons today. Now can anyone tell me their favorite season?" Artemis stood back up and grabbed out a seasons chart. "There's winter, spring, summer, and fall."

A little girl raised her hand. "Alyssa? Could you tell us your favorite season?"

"I like the summer!"

"I like the summer too. And why is it that you like the summer the most? All the seasons are equally awesome, right?" Artemis smiled down at her, her bright gray eyes showing her fondness for the kids. Alyssa grinned and clapped her hands. "Summer is the bestest because it's really green and…and all the trees have pretty flowers!"

Artemis grinned and nodded. "That's a great reason to love summer. Anyone else?"

She looked around the room, a lot of them were raising their hands in excitement. "Lewis," she said softly, "How about you tell us what your favorite season is?"

"My favorite season is the winter. I love playing in the snow and making snowmen and snow angels," Lewis replied shyly. They continued like that, until Artemis had called on everyone that had their hand raised.

"Well, that was very good! So everyone knows the characteristics of the seasons. Winter is cold and there's no leaves on the trees. Spring has beautiful flowers that are near bloom. Summer is when everything is green and in full bloom. And who can tell me what happens in the fall?"

Artemis nodded in the direction of a girl named Kylie.

"The leaves turn orange and yellow and brown then they fall off later in the season when it turns into winter," Kylie said with a proud tone. "Was that right Ms. Phoebe?"

"Very much so, Kylie!" Artemis went back to teaching the kids the months when each season occurred. She taught them the solstices—although she doubted they truly understood them. They would probably understand it a few years later but it was good to give them a foundation off of it. They then learned a song to help the kids remember the seasons and their corresponding months. Artemis gave them some cookies and milk before setting up the stereo for nap time. She placed the mats down while the kids socialized with each other and finished off the food. When she was satisfied and sure that there were enough mats for everybody she told them to grab the blankets they got from home. "Nap time has started. Stay silent, okay? I'm going to turn on some music to help you sleep."

She heard a chorus of "okay,"s and turned on _Moonlight Sonata_. It was their favorite classical song and they fell asleep to it fast. She had something to take care of.

Artemis marched into the hallway, an angry look on her face. She did not even register who she was pinning against the wall, she was just pinning them against a wall. "You don't think I noticed you watching me?! I'm a hella lot smarter than you think I am buddy!" she made sure that she was quiet but angry sounding enough to get her point across. "What are you doing here, sicko? This is a kindergarten class, if you're here to hurt my kids…"

She then saw the man take off his hat. She blinked a few times in confusion. "Dad?"

There Zeus stood, in all of his glory, graying beard, wrinkles, and all. He radiated a power that used to scare her when she was a kid. He glared down at Artemis but hardly seemed angry. Artemis shook her head in disbelief and backed away. "I haven't seen you in years…what are you doing here? I'm not participating in another experiment, not again." She was still scarred from the last time. She had the burns on her arm to prove it.

"Don't address me like that here. But…I want to give you a deal. An offer, but it's one that you cannot refuse," Zeus said, and he glanced back at the dark kindergarten classroom. He wanted to make sure no one was listening, not even a five year old could overhear. "Do you have a place more private where we can talk?"

Artemis nodded and texted a substitute to take over for the next half hour. "Okay. Follow me. But this better be short, I have a job to tend to, you know."

"Not a good one," Zeus said in discontent. He wanted Artemis to be a scientist like him. She rolled her eyes and directed him to an empty staff room that had pretty good sound insulation. She locked the door behind them.

"What do you want."

"I was watching you in there. You must really love young minds, correct?" Zeus said, leaning forward.

Artemis snorted. "You wouldn't know. But yes. I love kids. I love teaching them to be good, kind, and compassionate, as well as smart." Artemis' grin fell off her face immediately when she realized who she was talking to. "How is this relevant?"

"Do you remember the project I started with Dr. Jackson years ago? We have finished. Well, sort of. Dr. Jackson said he is missing one thing; his creation needs emotions, feelings. He trusts me more than anyone, and entrusted me with the job of finding someone who can teach him that." Zeus fidgeted in his seat. "When I did spend time with you, you were good, kind, and caring. This creation will be similar to a kindergartener because his cognitive skills are not yet fully developed and of course his empathy and sympathy are not as well. You, my dear, deal with people like him every day and would be suitable for the job."

"I don't understand," Artemis had learned to come to terms with some crazy things because her dad was basically a stereotypical mad scientist, but this was just weird. "What is this _creation_?"

Zeus cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "A timeless man. He knows no age. But his heart does not beat, and he cannot feel. Pain is but a thought to him. I've not seen him age even when we first created him. Dr. Jackson said he preferred him that way."

"What's his name?" Artemis asked. She needed to know his name, it was a essential part of building rapport with a student. She needed to know his name, it was how every relationship starts.

"Project #2e." Zeus replied, his tone and facial expression completely serious.

Artemis paused, as if waiting for Zeus to say, "Psyche! It's Gary!" because who would name somebody that? When she confirmed that he was serious she barked out a harsh laugh.

"Really? That is such a stupid name! Whoever named him deserves a punch in the face!" Artemis exclaimed, feeling bad for Project #2e.

"It's not very wise to punch Dr. Jackson in the face." Zeus said like that wasn't obvious already. He cracked his knuckles before pulling out a contract. "Here are some very important things I highlighted. _You do not tell anyone about this project at all. Do not abuse Project #2e in any way. Do not defile lab equipment. Do not tamper with research paper. DO NOT TALK TO DR. JACKSON UNLESS HE TALKS TO YOU FIRST._ " Zeus took a pausing breath. "We will pay you fifteen million dollars if Project #2e can speak, read and write in two languages fluently, show the emotion of sympathy, and function completely without your help in the span of nine months. We will make sure you have a good enough substitution while you're gone, and you'll be paid a good salary. Some days you will have to come to the lab, others you will take Project #2e out and about, and others still he will come to your house, which will be heavily surveillanced with cameras. That's the gist of it. Understand?"

"Woah, hold your wild horses there Zeus I haven't even agreed yet or anything." Artemis had amusement dancing in her eyes, he really thought she'd say yes to this? She couldn't teach a man-thing to read and write and speak in English and another language in nine months, especially not fluently. That kind of thing took time! "'Cause this is ridiculous. I'm not agreeing to this." She pushed the contract back to Zeus.

"I'm afraid you can't refuse," Zeus said, weaving his hands together, "This is a fifteen million dollar deal. If you refuse, I'm putting you on the job market blacklist. You won't be able to get a job anywhere in this country for two years."

"You don't have that kind of power, do you?" Artemis knew he was only bluffing, he wouldn't do something like that to his daughter. But…he _had_ always called her a failure, and she was his least favorite daughter.

"I have my connections."

Artemis sighed and pinched the skin between her eyebrows. "You're kidding! How could you possibly do something like that to me?! I'm your daughter for Christ's sake! Does that not matter to you?"

Zeus shrugged and looked her in the eyes. Artemis tried to search his cold unemotional, lifeless blue ones to find an inkling of guilt, but could find nothing. "Only a little. You are my least favorite after all. Athena is a genius engineer, aerospace and chemical all at the same time. Apollo is a world renowned physician and surgeon, while Hephaestus is an ingenious inventor! And that's not all of my children's success. You're just a kindergarten teacher."

"I have the ability to work as an English professor at a university! I have my master's degree in education. I just don't want to work with college students, I do what I do best with kids this age. You know I always loved them." Artemis was desperate to win her family name back. She was desperate to make her father proud. He'd never been proud of her.

Zeus laughed, "Even then. A professor in English? How pathetic. English is the language we already speak, we don't need to relearn it in college. Face it Artemis, you're disposable. Just like you've been disposed from our family."

Artemis cringed at her memories of how that came to be. She had graduated high school, and even though she was the valedictorian, she didn't go to a nice college, it was a simple in state school and she didn't study one of the STEM subjects; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Her family was renowned for their STEM children, and she was a simple liberal arts and English majors. Zeus was disappointed to say at the least and ordered that Artemis leave the family so they could retain their polished prestige. When she asked him how that was possible, Zeus had handed her papers to change her last name. So Artemis changed it to her second name, her middle name, Phoebe.

It was demeaning.

Artemis got up from her seat. The seat screeched loudly as it scraped against the floor. "Fine. If I'm so disposable, you don't need me for this job. Find someone else."

Zeus sighed. "I hope it wouldn't come to this, but—"

Artemis turned around. She shook her head. "You were serious about that, huh? You really want to screw your daughter over like this? You're no father, you're just a greedy selfish man who'll stop at nothing for what he wants."

Zeus smiled, his blue eyes sparkling in amusement. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Artemis looked at him one final time in disgust and left the room. It felt good to stand up to her father like that. All her life she'd been loyal to him, and obedient. It never paid out in the end, she realized bitterly. He was always there for her, watching her at science fairs to see what she had done. When her work was less than satisfactory, he'd leave. Artemis walked back to her kindergarten class, determined to forget her encounter with her father.

She dismissed the sub and while she was finishing up her day, she realized that she would trade her familial identity for just one day with those kids. It mattered less to her than she thought.

Dr. Jackson watched Zeus as he approached with apprehension. With one raise of the eyebrow he communicated his inner thoughts. _So? Did you find anyone_? Zeus had been with Dr. Jackson long enough to understand his signals most of the time. "You trust me."

Dr. Jackson nodded and tapped his paper with his pen. He had already written in his sloppy handwriting, _Who is it_?

Zeus lips curled upwards. "She's my daughter. She'll keep the secret. A failure, she is, nonetheless, but she's got that mushy gushy thing you're looking for."

 _You mean a heart_? Dr. Jackson replied on his paper. His eyebrow inched higher towards his hairline.

Zeus rolled his eyes and stroked his beard. "Yes. A heart. A compassionate one, and because of that she is not logical in any way. Took after her mother."

 _My son must be around a sensitive person. They must be kind and patient with him, or he will not develop properly. How do you know she will deal well with a mind as delicate and fragile as his? If this is nepotism, tell me now._

"She's a kindergarten teacher," Zeus said evasively. He didn't like talking about his least favorite daughter's profession often. "She deals with mini Project #2es every day. My daughter Artemis is definitely suited for the job. She can meet the requirements too. She speaks fluently in German, French, Italian, and Spanish. She has a masters in education and English. And she is…touchy feely and all that."

 _Nine months will be quite a race for her._

"Yes," Zeus agreed. "Project #2e has a lot to learn."

 _She sounds perfect. Has she signed the agreement yet? Bring her to me and I will meet her myself._

"Theirs is just a few minor details that you may need to know. Artemis refused the deal…and she kind of despises most men. I scarred her for life I suppose."

 _Well of course you did,_ Dr. Jackson wrote, _you are an apathetic man, Zeus._ _And do not worry about her acquiescence to the agreement, I'll have that taken care of. All she needed to know was the situation and requirements._

Dr. Jackson left the room, leaving Zeus looking very offended.

 **Author's Note: This will be a short story, so it will probably be less than ten chapters, though the chapters will be long. Through the Ages is almost finished, so that will be updated shortly. A Great Creation will be a side story, not really my priority, so the updates will not be close together. There might be a month or two in between, since I will be working on Through the Ages mostly.**

 **Signing out.**


	3. The First Day and Espionage

He does not like small spaces.

They remind him of certain things he does not like. They remind of people he does not like. He liked a very little amount of things, and closed spaces were not one of them. In fact, although he did not show it, he felt the slightest hint of fear whenever he entered a closed space. But it was never paranoia. He had yet to enter a closed space where there was no one there to test him. He did not like testing either. He was sure if he had any emotions he would hate testing.

And as so, he does not like closed spaces.

He was in a closed space when Zeus entered the room. If he had to pick out his least favorite doctor, it would be Zeus. He was always ordering him around and he was the one who administered the tests. He was sure that he would not forget Zeus standing there with a clipboard, testing and pushing his limits. Just thinking about the man made him sick. So when he actually _saw_ him, he felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He did not feel many things; discomfort was one of them.

"Hello, Project #2e," Zeus said, trying to be as warm as he could but his tone was forced. It left him wondering if Zeus was upset over something that day. Zeus was never pleasant but even less so now. He did not smile back at Zeus's rather thin one he gazed at the wall with a sort of longing, a longing to leave the laboratory. Leaving it meant his freedom. But he knew what would happen if he tried to leave. It had happened before. "We are going to test your strength again today. Let's start with one-hundred and ten pounds weights." He looked away, not wanting to look into Zeus's cold eyes. The blue in them was almost unsettling.

"Okay," he replied reluctantly and got up from his seat on the floor. As he took Zeus's arm to walk to a new room, he felt his legs give out. They had tested his flexibility the day before. He still remembered the sickening snap as they stretched past the limit. His expression stayed the same even as he recalled the memory. He had no doubt he would be lifting until he could move no more.

"Actually," a male's voice said, and he looked up to face him. "That won't be necessary, Zeus. I think Project #2e deserves a little bit of a break after yesterday. I need to talk to him alone, in fact." He kept his eye level to his creator, Dr. Jackson. If the man didn't have such an introverted personality and eerie air to him he would be almost jolly-looking. He had those creases by his eyes that meant he laughed a lot, or at least, he had at one time. He had a big bushy beard that would be comical on anyone else. But he didn't have the right traits, so he wound up looking like he was about as dangerous as an activated bomb that would blow up any minute.

Dr. Jackson smiled at him, his smile almost as plastic as Zeus'.

He pulled away from Zeus' grasp and followed Dr. Jackson as he led him through a maze of hallways. He looked around him in wonder. He hadn't seen this part of the laboratory before. At least, he thought. He might've seen it while he was walking back from one of testing rooms. He would have probably been too dazed to take in the details, though. Dr. Jackson opened the door and they entered a small, plain white painted room. There was one nauseatingly bright fluorescent light on the ceiling and a chair in the middle as the room's only adornments. "Take a seat."

He did.

Dr. Jackson closed the door with a heavy thud. He paced around him, his hands tucked behind his back. He adjusted his flashing glasses before turning his attention to him. "As you know, Project #2e, you are a creation, born in this laboratory."

He nodded hesitantly, offhandedly wondering why Dr. Jackson was stating the blatantly obvious.

Dr. Jackson cleared his throat. "I didn't want anyone to bother us as I explain my plans to you. You are about to be let out in the world, we think that you can handle it. You see, my son, there is much more to life than constant testing and solitary confinement. I've assigned you a teacher, and they will teach you what you need to know to experience the world." His eyes glazed over and he looked away from his creation on the chair. "Even though I didn't, I want _you_ to."

"She will be compassionate, kind, and sympathetic. She'll teach you how to be a virtuous and good person. She will teach you the basics of how to live life and navigate the world."

He straightened from his bent position he'd assumed while talking to him. "But remember this: _never_ let anyone take advantage of you. No matter who they are."

"You would never take advantage of me," he responded. Dr. Jackson was his family, his father, why would he? How could he possibly take advantage of him?

Dr. Jackson met his look sadly. "I already have."

It was silent for a few moments before Dr. Jackson adjusted his glasses again and left the room. "Be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

Project #2e looked down at his big hospital gown and said quietly and without expression, "Done."

* * *

Annabeth snuck into Dr. Zeus' office late into the night. She had to use Mrs. Katz's access card, since her access card didn't work at night to get into the building. It was eerily quiet when everyone had left the laboratory and the lights were off. She dug in her purse for a flashlight and switched it on. Turning on the lights might grab the attention of passerby in the street outside the building, and she didn't want to play the gamble of one of them being an employee at the laboratory. She tried to remember where Zeus went for his paperwork. She didn't want to go to Dr. Jackson's office, he was too intelligent to get past. If she'd move so much as one paper, he'd know. Zeus was a safer card.

She remembered him turning left from the main hallway, and then took a right from the break room. Annabeth nearly squealed in excitement. She'd found the red door that was the gateway to her finally knowing the project the experiment, everything. She opened the door, which wasn't locked and went inside. She flicked the light on and sat down on his plush chair. It was a really nice office; he had a polished wood desk, a PC, and a bookcase. The bookcase mostly contained his medical journals. There were some other books by other authors however. Annabeth clicked on the login. She had learned his password through some hacking (it was all harmless! She convinced herself, anyways) and intense study about Zeus' personal life. She shivered. Creepy. She typed in the password, _Artemis134_.

When she logged in successfully, she danced a victory dance. Annabeth looked back to the computer and typed in the word "project" into his document search engine. She saw various documents with the title, "Project #2e." She read the first one, leaning forward in her seat.

 _Project #2e has the mental capacity of a fully mature adult, but merely uses as much cognitive skills as a 10 year old. He is observant and is a fast learner. Project #2e had known about Laura's divorce because her ring was off, when the rest of the office had not noticed. Despite his impressive perception of the world, he has not smiled, nor truly frowned. He maintains the same passive expression, no matter what is shown to him._

Annabeth jumped in overwhelming shock. "O-Oh my god, he really did create life. Piper…she was right!" she leaned even further forward in her passionate intrigue to learn more. "That must've been his behavior document intro." She clicked on another document.

 _Degree in which he burns: 244° Celsius no pain reported._

 _Strength: untested_

 _Speed: 17 mph_

 _Flexibility: High. No pain reported. Sore and weak legs the next day._

 _Strength required for bruises: 50 lbs_

 _Pain tolerance from gathered data: Extremely high._

Annabeth had to stop there, despite the wealth of information on Project #2e's boundaries. "They're torturing him," she said, breathless. "Oh, the poor thing. And there's…even _more_ here. How _sick_." She read the pass code for the keypad to his room on another document and got up. Annabeth sprinted to the directions she'd jotted down on a legal pad and came through the double doors and down the halls to the right direction. She was curious to see what he looked like. Zeus kept no pictures of him on his computer. She'd restarted it so he couldn't see her browsing history. Annabeth worked hard for this experiment, sucking up most of her college years. She wanted to know what all those nights missing out on the infamous college parties were spent for. She wanted to know all of those restless mornings were spent for. She wanted to _know_.

Annabeth rushed to his door, and pulling out Zeus' key card, she unlocked it. She was somewhat fearful of what she might see. What was it? What _was_ Project #2e? Was he a monster? Was that why they hid him?

She flipped on the lights, and there she saw him. His head was in his hands, and his knees were tucked close to his chest. But that wasn't the first thing she noticed about him. He was pale. His skin was as white as her lab coat. He lifted his head, and underneath his wild, untamed, black-as-midnight hair, she saw his face. He had dark circles underneath his luminous sea green eyes. They hypnotized her, pulled her in and out with an unexplainable force. They were… _beautiful_. That was the only way she could describe them. They were like magnets and they drew her closer.

He had long, thick black lashes, so whenever he blinked it looked like they brushed against his cheekbones lightly. His lips were turned in the lightest of frowns, and despite his innocent beauty, he was daunting. He scared her. She trembled as he gazed at her he appeared to be a ghost, he looked…dead. He angled his head to the side. It creeped her out. "Are you my teacher?" he asked. "I thought I was going to meet you tomorrow."

Annabeth clutched her purse, fear grabbing hold of her quick after the first initial wave of shock. "Oh—Oh m-my g-god." She pointed a finger at him.

He stood up and approached her, even though that was the exact opposite of what she wanted him to do. "Are you alright? You look very sick. My dad says that if you're shaking—"

"M-m-m-m-m—"

"I've never seen you before. You have to be my teacher, right?"

"MONSTER!" She screeched.

"Well," he sighed, "That was not the reaction I expected." He walked forward to her all the way. He grabbed a lock of her curly blonde hair, ignoring her hyperventilation. He looked into her gray eyes that glinted from terror. He saw every detail on her face. "You are very pretty," he stated simply, but he didn't smile at all. He'd given her a really kind compliment, but with a blank expression. _Wow, they weren't kidding in the documents_ , Annabeth thought.

He brought the strand of hair he had grabbed and brought it to his nose. He took a long sniff and smelled the most wonderful smell he'd ever smelled in his whole life. It was a sweet scent, it was so thick however that it almost had a weight to it. He pulled away, and the terrified look in her eyes gave way to a curious and observant look. He studied her, she studied him. She regarded him, he regarded her. She was mildly surprised that they weren't pacing around in a circle, like a predator against another predator.

Annabeth stopped the cycle by fishing around in her purse for something. He watched her intently, wondering what she was doing. He'd seen a purse before, Laura brought one in before. He didn't know what it was used for, though. "I'm Annabeth," she said, holding out her hand. She held her ID in her other. "I'm in the instruments section in the laboratory, and I have been trying to meet you for a very long time, Project #2e. You shake it, by the way," the last comment was added when she saw his look of puzzlement at her outstretched hand. His large hand engulfed hers and he shook so violently she almost fell over. "Not that hard," she exhaled out.

He nodded and placed his hand back at his side. She stared at it. It was cold. How was this man alive?

Project #2e cocked his head to the side at her words. "Why have you wanted to meet me?"

"I have helped you come to life," Annabeth explained examining him again. It was so fascinating, spectacular, that he was _alive_ , talking to her, moving and breathing. She was so proud, with lack of a better word. She had helped create him. "And I decided that I wanted to see you."

"Is it not allowed?" he asked. He didn't want Annabeth to get in trouble. She was the nicest person he'd ever met. She seemed like she would be a good friend. "You helped create me, right? Why aren't you allowed to see your own creation?"

"You are not _my_ creation, Project #2e. You are Dr. Jackson's creation. I am merely one of his many helpers. I do say, this is…magnificent. I always knew that with such a diverse and large staff he was doing something big, but not something _this_ big." Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest. "Impressive. Incredible. Unbelievable. Unfathomable."

He frowned deeper. "What does fathomable mean?"

Annabeth pressed her fingers to her temple. "Creating life…he must feel like he's some kind of god." She admired him again. "I know I would."

He scratched the top of his head and pouted slightly since his burning question had yet to be answered. Annabeth continued to chatter about how complex it must've been, and while of course Dr. Jackson needed help, what he'd done was nothing short of magical. "He is ingenious to put it in the simplest terms."

After a while he wondered why she continued to talk when no one was there and he didn't understand half of what she was saying. "Annabeth," he said quietly. The blonde finally stopped her ranting and noticed his existence again.

"Sorry," she said. "I get very caught up sometimes. Passion is all consuming, you know. What is it?"

He blinked a few times. "What does fathomable mean?"

"Oh." Annabeth smiled at him. He didn't even have that inquisitive look to him, his face was devoid of anything, no traces of emotion whatsoever. "It's means you can understand its existence, I suppose." She rubbed her chin. "Your brain can wrap around a certain concept. If you can, then that object or idea can become fathomable."

He turned and sat back down in a corner closest to her. "So…are you my teacher? You know a lot of words. You are smart."

Annabeth blushed. Despite her exceptional intelligence she was not told as such. Her father was not around at her events or her high school graduation. She had no doubt that she wouldn't see him at her Harvard graduation either. And her step siblings weren't close enough to her to want to compliment her. At school, she was ignored. At work, she was not so exceptional anymore. "Thanks," she said, and walked closer to him. "No, I'm not your teacher, Project #2e."

She kept her eyes on him in wonder. How could he be so kind that in less than an hour he'd shown more kindness to her than her own family and peers? There was something so pure and innocent about him, despite his dark and eerie presence. Annabeth came closer and closer, until she was only an arm's length away. She patted him on the head. His hair wasn't soft. She wondered with a pained look in her eyes how often he was groomed, or even if he knew how to do it himself.

"I'm getting tired, so I have to leave. It'll take some time to wipe these security cameras anyways." She turned around, and for a while, all he could hear was the small thump her shoes created with every step.

He forgot to tell her that the camera in his room was connected to an entirely different network on its own.

* * *

"Mercy on me, oh lord, and don't get me fired," Artemis said, her hands tightly together as she looked up to the sky. She'd gone into the bathroom for three minutes and thought she could trust her students, but of course she was very wrong, and half of the class went missing. Eventually she found out they sneaked out into the playground, and Artemis harshly ordered them back inside. "I was gone for three _minutes_ , and you somehow managed to get out here?! Don't give me that look, Sarah!"

After a whole day of fussing and angry parental complaints, she was called out to the principal's office. She felt like a little kid again. She sat down in the uncomfortably cushy chair and waited for the principal, Mr. D, or Dionysus, to come in. When the drunken man finally did, she scrunched up her nose in disgust. Why was he almost always drunk on his job? "It's under my understanding that you left about ten children unsupervised on the playground today. I got many angry complaints, from almost all the parents in your class were bombarding my inbox to hell. Care to explain, Ms. Phoebe?"

"I went to the bathroom," she argued, "Come on, Mr. D, I didn't make that big of a mistake. The playground is one of the safest places in the building. There's a tall brick wall surrounding the area, and there's always an assistant teacher out there just in case. They weren't actually unsupervised. They even said so themselves, just the parents got it all wrong."

Mr. D rolled his eyes and sighed. "Even if that's true, Ms. Phoebe, it's bad for our reputation if we didn't fire irresponsible teachers. I believe you. Kind of. But the parents don't, and that's the problem, so we have to let you go."

"No, no!" Artemis leaned forward closer to him. "I love these kids! They are why I enjoy my job! You can't expect me to leave them in the middle of the year! Please, give me one more chance, I've never made a mistake before."

Mr. D waved his hand dismissively. "Look Ms. Phoebe I don't like you. But at least I can tolerate you. If you'd like that to stay the same and I don't write you a bad review, leave me and this office with this."

Artemis eyed the pink slip in his hand and slumped in defeat. She took it and sulked out of the building and turned to look at it one final time. She loved that school, she loved the kids there. She didn't want to leave, but unfortunately she knew where Dionysus was coming from.

She climbed into her car, took a breath, and drove home. The drive was seemingly longer than it usually was, all she could think about was her kids. "Ugh," she finally bit out. "I can't believe I just got fired. I've not been working that long. I don't know what I'm going to do." She hit her forehead against her steering wheel repeatedly. "I'm so screwed over."

She gathered her things she'd gotten from her desk, since she had to pack it all up, and walked to the front door. She unlocked it, unaware of the two figures spying on her from behind the trees.

"Do you see her, Project #2e?" Dr. Jackson pointed a finger at her. He nodded and took a long look at her. She was beautiful. The woman had long, shiny reddish brown hair that was tied half-back. She was dressed in a form fitting blue floral dress that showed off her long legs. The woman was nothing like Annabeth, he decided, but in a good way. She was breathtaking, and all he'd seen was the back of her. "That's your teacher. Her name is Artemis, and all you need to do is tell her your name, and she'll let you in."

He nodded, but he was pretty sure she would not welcome him warmly. The word Annabeth had called him the night before remained in his head. He looked back to Dr. Jackson. "Remember what I told you. Don't let anyone take advantage of you."

He nodded again and walked across the street, closer to Artemis. She was kicking the door out of frustration because it was not unlocking again. "Dammit," she tried again, "Dammit!"

Dr. Jackson raised an eyebrow. He really hoped that Zeus had good judgement. He took another look at his creation, and imagined his young boy running up to his first day of kindergarten. He shook his head. That would never happen, and even Project #2e could not fill that void.

"First I get fired, and now I'm locked out of my own house! Can this day get any worse?" She frustratingly gave the door one last kick and stormed over to her back door that led to her backyard. But she stopped suddenly, and slowly turned around to see him standing there, just staring. "What the flying mother cow, you really are trying to screw me over." She saw a man standing on her front lawn, dressed in a hospital gown and nothing else. He was so pale…he looked like a corpse he was so white. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, and his eyes, they were so spectacular. She thought she could look at them forever. It was the color of the sea, with a hint of a deep rich green and flecks of gold in the irises as well.

He had innocent features, with big eyes, and down turned eyebrows. But what disturbed her was the stitches that ran up and down his arms and legs. She had no doubt that he had more on his chest and abdomen. And he looked so…dirty. His hair was everywhere and matted. His fingernails had dirt in the nail bed.

"Who _are_ you?" Artemis approached him cautiously, afraid and unknowing of what he might do.

"My name is Project #2e," he replied, remembering what Dr. Jackson had told him. "My dad told me you were my teacher—" She was even more stunning in the front. She had plump, pink lips and bright, energetic silver eyes. They were similar in color to Annabeth's, but hers were more interesting. While there were storms in Annabeth's, there was a soft glow, a luminescence to Artemis'. She had such pink cheeks, he noticed, and he compared that to how pale his face was. Was that normal? She just seemed so alive.

"Oh God dammit," Artemis wanted to scream. Had he seriously just dropped him off at her doorstep and left him there? She didn't even agree to the contract! "My stupid, retarded—"

"You _are_ my teacher, right?" he asked, wondering if perhaps Dr. Jackson had pointed out the wrong woman, or if they got the address wrong. He'd said that she was a compassionate woman.

Artemis stared at him like he'd grown three heads—which he might as well done, seeing as he couldn't have gotten much stranger, and might as well go all the way—and debated on what to say. He looked at her with large, innocent puppy eyes. She didn't want to disappoint him but at the same time…

Screw it. She needed this money. "Sure."

He followed her as she gestured for him to follow her into the backyard. There was a small pool and seat with trees circled around it. Other than that, and a small patch of grass behind the gate, there was nothing else in the backyard. He took everything in, and his eyes lingered on the pool. Despite the calm weather, all he wanted to do was jump in and see how it would feel. He hadn't seen the outside before, and it was overwhelming to his senses. He felt the heat hitting his back and ignored the slight warmth that leaked into his skin. "I swear, if this doesn't work," Artemis grumbled, jamming her key into the lock. She twisted and turned but it wouldn't unlock. She took a deep breath and her gaze rested on him, almost as if he expected his next words.

"Maybe you need to put it in softer." He grabbed the key and walked past her. Artemis caught a whiff of his stale scent and coughed fanning a hand in front of her face.

"Jesus, do they even _clean_ you over there?" she asked as he inserted the key into the lock. He jiggled it in the lock and turned it to the left gently, effectively unlocking the door. He opened the door and standed there, unsure what to do.

"What are you doing boy? Come inside, don't just stand there like an idiot," she brushed past him, much to her dismay. The poor man was not very hygienic and smelled like stale sweat. She kicked off her shoes and let her hair down. He watched in fascination as her hair fell down in long waves, framing her heart-shaped face.

"You are not very compassionate," he noted to himself but of course he wasn't aware he was just stating his thoughts aloud.

"Not to men, no," she said softly. She found it very hard to be kind to men, because in one way or another, they were all like Zeus. She'd tried dating in the past but they all ended up seeming just like her father; controlling and angry. They reminded her too much of her own father. She pointed to the couch. "Sit down over there. Do not look, or that beautiful nose of yours won't be so beautiful anymore."

He nodded and sat down. He heard some kind of movement of fabric. He was just itching to look though. He wanted to know what she was doing. Eventually the curiosity took over and he forgot her warning, just like a little kid. So he turned a little bit, inconspicuously and her nearly bare back was facing him. She was pulling her dress over her head and she leaned forward to grab an oversized shirt she pulled over her head. He turned back around and looked at the wall as if he'd really done that the whole time.

"Alright," Artemis said, walking over to him, dressed in pajama shorts and a big t-shirt that said, _I do the hardest job on Earth. I teach._ "We've got to get you all cleaned up because you smell like you're dead! How often do they bathe you?"

"Once a week," he said and shrugged as if that was totally normal. Artemis scrunched her nose up in distaste and turned around to lead him to the bathroom.

"Well, from here on out, you will bathe every day."

He gave her the closest thing to a confused look he could; his eyebrows twitched slightly, a small change to his usual passive expression. Artemis turned around and gave him her own raised eyebrow. "What? I'm your teacher, right? Well, first lesson. You bathe yourself. Every day."

"Yes, Miss…"

"Phoebe. But Artemis is fine. In fact, it's better if you call me that. While you are my student, I'd prefer that," she opened the door and grabbed a towel. She handed it to him. She turned on the bath water, setting it on a neutral temperature. She straightened back up and wiped her hands on her shirt. "There you go," she pointed at the soap. "You run this over your skin and you put this," she showed him the shampoo and conditioner, "in your hair. Speaking of which, we need to get you a hair cut. Now take your clothes off, and tell me when you're all dry. I'll give you some clothes."

He nodded and started to unbutton the back of his gown. Artemis yelped and covered her eyes. "No! Not _right_ now! Not when I'm in the room!"

"Oh," he said simply and continued to undress anyways. Artemis kept her hand over her eyes as she surged for the door. She began searching the house for that outfit Apollo left behind the last time he visited. She could hear him step into the water. He was splashing. She frowned. A grown man. Splashing in a bathtub. What the hell.

She found the outfit, a plaid blue shirt and dark blue jeans. Artemis crinkled her nose. Her brother had horrible fashion sense. She marched over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. Apparently she needed to teach him time management because it'd been nearly twenty minutes. She knocked on the door. "Project #2e," she hated calling him that. It somehow felt belittling on his end, "You've been bathing for too long. Get out of the bath now."

"Yes Artemis," she heard him say on the other side of the door. She put her hand over her face again just in case and opened the unlocked door. She stuck her arm, bearing the clothes, through the space. She felt his cold hands grab them and she closed the door. She wandered into her room and grabbed her brush before returning to the bathroom. "Are you ready and clothed?"

He opened the door and stepped out. He looked some what normal, and not like he was some test subject even though that was what he technically was. "Your shirt is backward." She laughed. It was silly to see the buttons and collar on his back. "Un button it again and put the buttons on the front." He nodded in compliance and removed his shirt. Artemis watched him sadly as she saw all of his stitches. They ran up and down his chest and abdomen, all the way up to his broad shoulders. She imagined from what Zeus said, they must've used a lot of different body parts. They had to have hurt him in some way.

He put it on the right way and asked her, "Is this better, Artemis?"

She nodded and lifted her brush. "We're not done yet. Go sit down on the couch, I'll be right there." She grabbed some Argan oil and walked over to his sitting form. His gaze was on the window overlooking the street. Artemis lathered her hands up with the Argan oil and rubbed it into his tangled hair. She placed the brush onto his scalp. "This might hurt," she warned him.

"It won't," he whispered. She began to tug at his unruly black hair. "So. Who named you?"

"My dad," he answered not caring that she'd basically removed a handful of his hair. "The rest of the doctors started calling me Project #2e too."

"Poor thing," she tutted. "You know, your story reminds me of this girl scout song I used to sing at camp. The song was called Percy the Pale-Faced Polar Bear," she pulled extra hard at a stubborn knot, "And it was about this polar bear that was trapped in a cage. Kind of reminds me of your laboratory and your so-called doctors. Oh and you have a pale face too."

He touched his cheek. Was he really that pale? He looked at himself in the mirror of Artemis' bathroom and he was as white as a sheet.

She snapped her fingers. "That's it! Percy! I'll call you Percy!"

Percy's face stayed completely the same. Artemis paused her brushing and put her hands on her hips. "Pretty genius, huh?"

Percy looked up at her, his wide eyes putting her off. "Don't give me that look," Artemis grumbled, "You look like I just punched you in the face or something. Come on, it can't be _that_ bad."

He slumped in his seat and lowered his gaze and she resumed her removal of perhaps 90% of his hair. "Turn your head this way." She placed her warm fingers on both sides of his head and guided it to the right before she started working on that side. Percy looked at his fingers. They were so cold when he touched them, and she was so warm. So alive, he thought.

"What?" Artemis asked, even though she heard him.

He must've been thinking out loud again. "Nothing."

"Great," Artemis said, placing her hands on her hips in satisfaction. He noticed she did that a lot. "That's pretty good, we just need to get you a trim, that's all. And a manicure," she added when she saw his dirty fingernails. "Damn, dad, you did not take care of him." She got out a nail clipper after a ten minute searching period and tended to his nails. The whole time he was silent, with the same expression as she worked.

In the middle of completing his left hand, Artemis stopped suddenly. She looked him in the eyes. "Hey. Percy."

"Yes Artemis?"

"Why don't you smile?"

"I don't know how to."

"What kind of answer is that, of _course_ you know how to."

"I don't."

"Fine. I'll teach you that as well. But first, you need a hair cut, and _whew_ , deodorant too!"

* * *

 **Author's note: That song will actually be relevant to the storyline by the way. I actually didn't get the naming thing from Winter Woods I just really like the premise of Artemis naming Percy, something you'd know if you read Through the Ages.**

 _ **I am so sorry. As I was writing very passionately, I wrote 4,000 out of what was a 7,000 word chapter of Through the Ages in one sitting. When I was about to save, Word crashed on me! I am leaving for my trip in a few days and the hotel I'm going doesn't offer Wi-Fi with the room and I am on a very tight budget. So unfortunately I cannot update in a whole month! I hope you guys can understand.**_

 _ **Thank you for nearly 350 follows on Through the Ages! The English language cannot communicate my gratitude. :)**_

 _ **Have a great summer,**_

 _ **Lucky**_


	4. You're Alive?

"Percy! No!" Artemis said as he picked up her bra from her drawer. Her face slowly grew red from embarrassment. "Put that back down this instant!" Percy craned his neck around to look at her. "What is it, Artemis?"

"It's a bra, now drop it before I have to force you!" She nearly shouted. When he finally obeyed her, she sighed in relief. "Why did I bring him in here again?" The words were nearly silent and mumbled under her breath, but Percy heard them anyways.

"You said that you were going to start reading me books—"

Artemis rolled her eyes, and added 'teach Percy not to answer questions that are rhetorical or not aimed towards him' to her mental checklist to teach him in the next nine months. She wanted to cry in aggravation. Nine months! How ridiculous! How did they expect her to teach him what others learn in ten years in barely a school year? "Yes, yes, I know what I said, but next time you don't touch anything in my room, not without my asking, understand?"

Percy nodded vigorously. "Alright then," Artemis said rubbing her hands together. She grabbed a book that was entirely about the alphabet. Preschool education wasn't her forte, but she'd been forced to do this anyways. She needed to improvise. "Pay attention to this. This is the basis of the rest of your education, so if you don't get this, you're not going to get anything else I tell you."

Percy nodded again and watched her with all of his focus. Artemis sat down next to him and opened up her book. She felt so strange, since the person she was about to read this to was no preschooler, he was a grown man. An illiterate grown man. "This book is about the alphabet. Say it with me, _alphabet_."

"A is for apple, the first letter of the alphabet," she said, making sure he could see the page. Saying "a" wasn't the big deal, it was being able to recognize. Artemis hoped that he could assemble a simple sentence on paper at the end of the week. It was a stretch, she knew, but if the terms on the contract were correct, she didn't have much time to dwell on one topic. She needed to get the basics done in the first three months, and then she would elaborate on each subject for the rest of the time. She hoped that this strategy would work. She'd received a letter from someone, it didn't say who, that stated the address she needed to bring him to at 5 in the evening. The next day, it told her, she would take him to lunch to instruct him on "proper restaurant etiquette." _Don't be late_ , it warned.

"U is for umbrella, the twenty-first letter of the alphabet," Artemis said, and Percy looked at the picture of the umbrella on that paper. He said that he thought it looked strange. They finished reading the book, and Artemis snapped the book shut. "Now I'm going to teach you a song, and then you're going to write all of these letters on paper. After that, I'll take you home."

Percy nodded in acquiescence and followed her out to the living room. She waved him down at the couch and shuffled to her kitchen. Artemis rummaged through her cupboard and grabbed a drink. "Would you like a drink, Percy?" she shouted across the room.

"No," he said back to her. She shrugged and went back to grabbing a cup for herself and pouring some iced tea out into her cup and sat back down with him. "I'm going to teach you a song that will help you memorize the alphabet. Then I want you to take some worksheets with you to the lab and work on them. We'll do one here together, and after that you're on your own. Sound good?"

Percy nodded and put a somewhat focused expression on his seemingly static face. Artemis began singing. She wasn't an exceptional singer, but she was told various times that she was good. She just wasn't _great_. Her brother Apollo had inherited most of the good singing genes in her family. The rest were handed to her and her siblings couldn't force out one note without sounding like a dying toad. "A, B, C, D," she sang in that familiar tune that was identical to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. After the first time she sang it she asked Percy to sing with her. Oh, the awkwardness that followed suit.

His voice wasn't very good, but it wasn't horrible either. Artemis decided that she wouldn't want to stab her ears out. After twenty minutes she glanced at the clock. It was 4:15 pm, and she needed to get him to the lab at 5 o'clock sharp. She brought him a clipboard and a page with an A on the first line, and then it was blank for him to fill it out. She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave him a pencil. "Copy the a," she demanded.

Percy looked very puzzled. She adjusted his grip on the pencil and guided him through his first a. "Good, good," she praised him, and he seemed pleased with himself at her approval, "Now do that by yourself. Twenty times." She was glad when she learned from the letter he already knew his numbers. That would've made things so much worse if he didn't. "On every line."

Percy didn't complain, he replicated the _a_ twenty times on the line and looked up at her. Her hands were on her hips again. That meant she was satisfied and that was good. Artemis turned around and swiftly grabbed twenty five more worksheets, each with a different letter on them. "Finish these tonight, and show me them in the morning. Come on, we must go or we'll be late. I don't want that to happen." Percy nodded and followed her out the door to the car. Artemis marched with purpose, twirling her keys around with her finger, causing little streaks and sparks of light to reflect on her face. Her hair shone in the light too; making it all the more captivating to Percy.

She hopped into the driver's seat and started the car. She gestured for Percy to sit at the passenger seat. He slid in and took a look at her house. It was small, but quaint looking because of the large trees surrounding it. Percy turned to look back at her, only to see her displeased expression. "What?" He asked her. She pulled at a strap that stretched from her shoulder and disappeared under her seat opposite of where it started. "Seat belt," she stated simply, "So you don't die if we get into a crash."

"What's a crash?" he gave her the same look he gave Annabeth when he asked her what _fathomable_ meant.

"It's when two of these big metal things you're sitting in called a car ram into each other and cause a huge amount of impact and friction. There's so much kinetic energy that they both fly in different directions when they hit. A lot of the times people die in the process, and it causes _really_ bad traffic that makes you want to pull your hair out," Artemis explained to him and backed out of her driveway. "And we use seat belts to reduce the chance of dying if you _do_ get into a car crash."

Only about half of the explanation registered in his mind, and it reminded him painfully of Annabeth and her gibberish. He didn't understand why they kept rambling on and on about "kinetic energy" and other science stuff like that. Just because Percy was a science project didn't necessarily mean he liked science. At all.

Artemis had a sort of dry humor to her explanations, and just seemed to know a lot, but had no intention to care about the things she knew. Annabeth, however, would be a possessed woman and could talk into one subject in a fantastic stupor. She would be in her own fantasy land, and ignore all that was around her. This, Percy noticed. He noticed a lot of things. He clutched his clipboard and pencil tighter. He hoped he would remember how to use the pencil when it was time to use it on the paper. He wondered if Dr. Jackson would have the time to help him. He might have to go home early, though. Percy didn't like it when everyone left, and being alone was not something he liked either.

That's why he liked it so much when Annabeth had arrived: it was nice to not be alone and in the dark for once. It was always so dark in his room at night. He felt like all he could breathe and feel was the darkness. And then he was left to his memories. He didn't like his memories.

He didn't notice the hand that was waving in front of his face. "Peeeercyyyy," Artemis called. He looked at her in question. "Are you alright? I was calling your name but you weren't saying anything…is everything okay?"

Percy nodded and got out of the car. She followed suit, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey," she said, looking up at him with concern etched on her perfect features. He studied her face, and her down turned eyebrows, pouting lips, and silver eyes shining with worry. It wasn't an expression he'd ever seen before. "Talk to me, Percy. Tell me what's wrong. You looked like you'd seen a ghost back there." Her hand remained on his shoulder, an anchor holding him to earth as he remembered the look in Zeus' eyes as he approached him with a bright red rod. He remembered the red rash it left behind on his arm days afterward. He couldn't move that arm. He remembered—

"Percy," Artemis said desperately when he still didn't respond, "What is it?"

"It's nothing, Artemis," he reassured her. It really wasn't anything. He didn't feel anything when they tested him; it was just their faces. They were…dark. Full of a scary kind of darkness he didn't like to think of, but it was all he thought of every night.

Artemis dropped her hand, unconvinced, and led him to the front door of the lab. It was strange because it didn't really look like a front door. There was a dumpster right by it and the door appeared pretty aged. There was a man waiting there. He had a long white lab coat and glasses that flashed under the sun. He had a large black beard and his hands were in his pockets. "Ms. Phoebe," he said, nodding at her. "You are quite a sight." He did not say it inappropriately, and he had no appreciative tone underlying his compliment. It just simply was. It was not polite either. "What is in Project #2e's hands?"

Artemis licked her lips, not wanting to answer this strange man. He was not what you would call friendly looking. She immediately did not feel comfortable leaving Percy in the care of this strange man, although Percy seemed generally okay with it. It still did not ease the weight of uneasiness in her chest. "Worksheets. For the alphabet." She tilted her chin up to show that she wasn't really afraid even though the rest of her body said otherwise. She was slowly backing away from him and her arms were crossed as if to protect herself. Both Percy and Dr. Jackson realized this, and while Dr. Jackson felt contentment, Percy felt confused why she would feel that way around his father. He was safe.

Ever the naïve one, Percy approached her slowly as if not to scare her. "My dad is safe. He won't hurt you." He looked pointedly back at Dr. Jackson as if to tell him _well, he better not_.

Artemis nodded and continued her back pedaling from him. She flicked her chin towards him. Artemis had a bad feeling about this man. There was a sinking feeling in her gut that she just couldn't shake. All the while Dr. Jackson was smirking mockingly at her. "Be safe, okay Percy? I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure to finish those worksheets."

It took all the control in her not to turn and run.

Percy watched her as she walked back to her car, and felt Dr. Jackson place his hand on his shoulder as Artemis did before. "Come inside with me. Did you learn anything today?" Percy nodded and sang the alphabet song he learned that day at full volume. As soon as he hit _b_ , Dr. Jackson clamped a hand over Percy's mouth. "Shhh, Project #2e, you can't have people hearing you!" He pulled his hand away slowly as if he was worried Percy would start singing again. He breathed a sigh of relief at the silence that followed and guided Percy back to his room. He sat him down and leaned down.

"Can you tell me what happened today?" he leaned further from his position, seeming eager to hear any news on Percy's first day of education. Percy's grip on the clipboard became even tighter. He nodded.

"Artemis gave me a bath and these clothes," he gestured to them, "And then she brushed my hair, pinched at my nails with this metal thingy, and she showed me her bra—"

Dr. Jackson's eyes widened so large they basically took over the features of his face. " _What_? She showed you her _bra_?" He felt absolutely infuriated. He trusted Zeus with his creation's education, and he'd given him a harlot! With his almost _son_ , no less, an innocent—

"I was in her room," Percy mused, completely oblivious to Dr. Jackson's ire, "And I was curious so I went through her drawers and it looked really weird—"

Once Dr. Jackson heard this, he was drawn out of his stupor and calmed a great amount. He nodded to himself, feeling his anger drain out of him as Percy animatedly described the bra to him. He promptly told him afterwards she read to him some books with an apple, followed with a " _What's that_?" and then he was singing the alphabet song. Dr. Jackson thanked Zeus for thinking of the sound-insulated walls. He'd already seen that idiotic blonde girl sneak in through the night before. She didn't know his camera was connected to a completely different server, and while he could tell she was an undeniable genius she had missed that crucial step.

He decided to let it go in the end. He saw their interactions together. They were…interesting, and his curiosity was piqued by the companionship the two had seemingly formed in a matter of minutes. He wondered in the back of his mind if Project #2e connected with all people that way. He hoped not. That was dangerous. He could be taken advantage of, he could be poked and prodded by another science team. He only trusted himself and slightly his team. Percy suddenly perked up and gave him a smile, the _first smile_ he'd ever smiled, it was a huge goofy grin that chilled Dr. Jackson to the core. Project #2e suddenly didn't look so dead anymore.

"She named me too!" his voice was ecstatic.

"What?" Dr. Jackson squawked. He was not confused by nearly anything but this made no sense. Why would Artemis feel the need to _name_ him when he already possessed one?

"Percy," he said, and his smile was already gone. It was so fast Dr. Jackson questioned if it was even ever there. Dr. Jackson shook his head. He didn't want to cry. He couldn't cry, not here.

Percy's face came uncomfortably close. "Are you alright?" he remembered Artemis asked him that early when he wasn't feeling alright, perhaps the rule went for Dr. Jackson as well. Dr. Jackson jumped when he saw Percy so close to his personal space. He was jerked right out of his reverie. He was thankful he was too. The pain of his wife and son leaving him was so sharp, so acute, that he stopped. Everything stopped. His whole life stopped when he thought of his late family. Percy shook his shoulder.

"What?" He growled furiously, and his teeth gritted and ground against each other. "What is it now?!" Percy's hand flew away from his creator and scrambled back. He wasn't afraid, despite what it seemed like. He was emotionless, but he knew the man had gone into another fit of rage. Not desiring to be hit, he backed up, raising his hands into the air in a comforting gesture.

"Father…"

"I'm not your goddamn _father_!" he screamed at him and approached him with a hand raised. "I'm not a father! My son, my _Percy_ , is _dead_!"

Percy sat there, knowing that Dr. Jackson needed to get his anger out and he was willing to let him. He felt no pain. He would be alright. Who Percy was thinking about was his creator. Would he be alright? Dr. Jackson looked at his eyes, and that face; his high cheekbones that belonged to _Sally_. He didn't deserve any of her DNA, and he didn't _deserve_ her features at all. His hand was still raised as he came closer to Percy.

Page Break

Annabeth found herself awake a half an hour after she stepped into her bed. Her limbs seemed to have a mind of their own as she got her keys and hopped into her car. She drove to the laboratory, it was pretty late and she snuck in the same way she'd done the night before. She used the same key code on Project #2e's door and was relieved to find it had stayed the same since she'd last been there. When Annabeth entered the room, Project #2e was sitting so exactly like when she first saw him it was eerie. She switched on the light, which was such a shock to her eyes she had to squint in the bright light.

What was different though was apparent when he raised his face. It was covered in bruises. One large bruise spanned across his neck and up to his cheek. Another lay near his nose, and there was yet another on his other cheek. There was a bruise on his shoulder, finger marks had been left there. Annabeth was shocked and her mouth was hanging open as she raced to him. "Project #2e!" she said. She would _have_ to tell Dr. Jackson who did this. He would not be happy. Maybe it was that 'teacher' he was talking about the night before? All she knew was that if she met the culprit of this assault she'd beat them good.

"Are you okay? What happened? I demand that you tell me, right now!" she kneeled next to him, and Percy turned his head and gave her a slight head nod of acknowledgement as if nothing was wrong at all, and that he was totally _fine_.

"Hello, Annabeth."

Annabeth was hit with another wave of shock. She stopped all of her movements of nursing his wounds. "Project #2e…are there more?" She looked up at him, practically begging with her eyes for him to say no. He didn't say no.

"Yes."

"Where? Point to me where it is." Annabeth leaned forward so she could get a better look. He pointed to his abdomen and she groaned sadly.

"Who did this to you?" She asked weakly. "What actually _happened_?"

"My dad was…" he realized he didn't really have a word for what his father was. "My creator was…feeling things about his real son." Percy would be a fool if he hadn't figured that one out. Dr. Jackson had said that Percy was his _son_. It was easy to figure out.

"Oh," Annabeth wilted. She knew about Dr. Jackson and his crazy episodes. She knew that he had mental challenges, but she never thought, not once in a million years, he'd hurt his own creation. "Project #2e, I am so sorry. I'll go to the biology department so I will be right back."

Percy cocked his head. "Why are you leaving?" He didn't want her to leave, when she was there, he finally forgot Dr. Jackson's face as he brought his fist back to strike him. Annabeth made him feel safe. "Please…stay…"

Annabeth saw his eyes. Those beautiful sea blue-green eyes. His expression was neutral, but his eyes betrayed that neutrality. She knew he was desperate for her to stay, but she needed medicine and bandages. She knew she'd find it in the biology area of the laboratory and she wanted to help him. "I will be right back." She turned around and left the room, turning the light off. Percy shrunk back into himself and closed his eyes, wishing for the darkness to go away, and the dangerous glow of Dr. Jackson's green eyes to fade.

Annabeth left the room, feeling as though there was a hefty weight on both of her shoulders. Why had Dr. Jackson done such a horrible thing? And to his own creation, no less. She could not imagine maliciously laying a finger on Project #2e, he was the sweetest person she'd ever known. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had a special connection with him. Annabeth turned on her flashlight and walked over to the biology section and grabbed the tools she needed for Project #2e.

She paced back, walking back to his room as fast as possible. He really didn't want her to leave and that was concerning. Annabeth fiddled with the gauze that she was holding, simply because it was something to do. When she came back, she typed in the code and walked in. "I am back," she said, and leaned down to meet his eyes. She loved his eyes.

"Annabeth!" Percy grinned, throwing his arms around her affectionately. He nuzzled his nose into her blonde curls, the smile still not leaving his face. He smelled that sweet smell he only identified as Annabeth's. "You're back!"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and backed away from him. He was smiling. That was unexpected. She decided that she liked his smile as well, it brightened up his eyes and his smile was so innocent and pure despite what had happened to him earlier that day. "I'd said I was going to be back soon, did I not?"

"No, not technically," said Percy, frowning. Annabeth's eyes narrowed further at the new expressions he could make. What had made him like this? When she had met him only twenty-four hours ago he would barely make the smallest of facial movements. Perhaps the teacher was teaching him this? Annabeth shook her head. That doesn't make any sense, nobody teaches someone how to make _facial expressions_. "You said you'd be 'right back.' What does that mean exactly?"

"It's kind of a figure of speech. It means that I'll be back fast," Annabeth said, gesticulating with her hands to further her point. "No one ever really uses it literally, because then they'd never leave at all."

"Oh," Percy said, sounding very much like a little kid.

" _Oh_ ," Annabeth chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. When she stopped giggling at Percy's puerile behavior, she asked him seriously, "You said you were going to meet your teacher today. How did it go?" She folded her hands into her lap.

"Really good! My teacher Artemis is really funny and mean to kitchen appliances. She's really pretty, prettier than you, even," Percy exclaimed giddily. Annabeth blushed and turned away, feeling slightly insulted for some reason. "She took this weird stick looking thing with pointy things that went through my hair," he pointed at his hair as he reenacted what Artemis did to his hair.

"You mean a brush? She brushed your hair? That's great," Annabeth smiled, remembering how coarse Project #2e's hair was when she touched it the night before. It was good she was taking proper care of him.

"Yeah, and she gave me clothes and a bath too but dad didn't want me to wear those so he made me wear my gown again," Percy said, nodding the whole time. Annabeth grinned and took some salve. She rubbed it on the scratches on his chest. Annabeth's hand slowed as her palm trailed against solid muscle. She cleared her throat and handed him the salve. "Make sure that your teacher puts this salve there," she lightly traced her fingers around his gash, "tomorrow, okay? And make sure she changes the bandages I'm about to put on you."

Percy nodded and relaxed as Annabeth carefully wrapped the bandages. She tried to avoid brushing her fingers against his skin to make things less awkward, although she was pretty sure, knowing him, he didn't really know what "awkward" felt like, and therefore, didn't care. She finished and smiled at him, giving him a hug.

"What are you doing?" Percy asked curiously.

"I'm hugging you," Annabeth said softly, "It's to comfort you, when something bad has happened or when you're upset."

She broke the hug and smiled warmly at him. Percy barely smiled back, but it was an improvement. Annabeth was glad he was experiencing emotion. He stopped smiling and got up slowly, careful not to disrupt his wounds. Walking over to a corner, he asked her, "Can you help me with these worksheets? Artemis gave them to me and she wants me to finish them tonight."

Annabeth nodded. So she knew this teacher's name now. They sat down together and worked on the worksheets together. Annabeth wasn't the best teacher around, she tended only to give the answer to the person she was teaching. But she tried her very best to help him without helping him _too_ much. Annabeth had to guide his hand every once in a while if it got too shaky, but other than that, Percy did well. She smiled happily when they finished, and gave him another hug.

Percy was engulfed by her scent and sighed happily. He loved that smell. Annabeth grinned and backed away from him. She got up from her previous sitting position and grabbed her purse. "Remember to tell Artemis to put on the salve and change your bandages." She paused and added, "At all costs, don't let Dr. Jackson see your bandages. Please."

She waved and walked out of the room.

It was dark again.

Percy couldn't sleep.

Page Breakk

Artemis was rushing to get ready for picking Percy up. She was squirting perfume on her wrist with one hand while brushing her hair at the same time. Over the years she'd mastered the art of multi-tasking to achieve a more expedient way of getting ready. And she'd woken up so incredibly late because for once she turned off her alarm. She had no actual need to get up so early anymore. But the consequence of that was she'd woken up at eleven-thirty when she needed to be there at twelve. "Just need to put on some shoes…put on some shoes…" She scrambled around the house looking for her shoes. Artemis groaned in frustration. " _Seriously_? I _just_ saw them! Where did they go?"

After a full five minutes she found them under her bed. She put them on and sprinted to her kitchen island and grabbed her purse and keys before racing out the door. Artemis rushed to the car and sighed with relief when she turned the ignition. "I survived," she huffed, and backed out of her driveway and headed towards where she dropped off Percy the day before.

When she drove up to where she'd dropped him off, she walked over to the door. It opened and Percy walked out. Artemis gasped when she saw the bruises on his face, neck, and arms. She gasped and ran to him. "Percy…" Her heart was slamming in her chest, and she felt a certain pressure behind her eyes. She squeezed them shut. She couldn't cry. Artemis opened her eyes and she realized that Percy was hugging her.

"Percy…?"

"You're upset?"

Artemis narrowed her eyes and didn't answer. Percy tightened his hold on her. Annabeth had hugged him when he was upset. It made him feel happy, and good. Perhaps if he hugged Artemis she would feel happier too. He remembered seeing the shine in her eyes. He'd seen it in Dr. Jackson's eyes too. It was when he was about to cry. Percy didn't want to see Artemis cry, and felt like he would do anything to keep her from doing so. Artemis backed up from him, but he only renewed his grip on her. Artemis growled and pushed him away from her. After she calmed down, she asked him, "What in hell happened to you?"

Her fingers lightly brushed against his high cheekbones. The bruises were the worst there. His eyes fluttered closed, reveling in the feeling of her soft skin against his own. Artemis retracted her hand swiftly as if she'd been burned. She cleared her throat. "W-What happened to you?" She asked again.

"My creator was…" Percy looked away. He couldn't say it out loud. He didn't want to.

Artemis frowned, and closed her eyes. She knew that there was something wrong with Dr. Jackson. Percy reached for one of his pockets and produced a small bottle of salve. Artemis jumped because it was so close to her face. She gently pushed it away from her a little bit. "What is that?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Salve," Percy said. "Annabeth told me to tell you to put it on this," he lifted his shirt, and Artemis yet again jumped in surprise, and then pointed at the gash covered with gauze spanning from his pectoral down to his belly button. "Oh yeah, and change the bandages."

"Who's Annabeth?" Artemis asked quizzically, frowning unhappily. Had she heard of this girl before? Did she do this to him and was only giving Artemis the salve from guilt, and wanted Artemis to clean her mess up? She hated this "Annabeth," then.

"A friend," Percy answered her softly, "she helped create me. A lot of people did." He handed her his completed alphabet papers. Artemis smiled at him and placed a hand on her hip.

"She helped me with that too," a Percy said.

"Very nice," Artemis said satisfied with his work. Percy smiled at little at her kind tone.

"I'll take you home so we can put that salve on and change your bandages. I have some left over for when Apollo came over," she cringed at the memory. Considering the fact that Apollo was a doctor, he got hurt a _lot_ and put himself in dangerous situations numerous times. "Oh…and I should probably change your clothes, too. We're going out today." She tried not to analyze her choice of words. "Oooh…and concealer, too," she added when she observed the dark circles. _Does he ever get any sleep_? She thought to herself with a shake of the head.

They went into her car and this time Percy remembered to put on his seat belt. Artemis drove to her house, and with a huge sigh of relief, was able to open the door without much effort. Percy looked around the house. It was so cozy. He decided it was his favorite place; he felt safe. Artemis disappeared into her room and rummaged through her dresser for the bandages and another outfit. She was a little upset that Dr. Jackson got rid of her brother's other clothes. She came out and stood in front of Percy. He looked her up and down. Artemis was dressed in a jean jacket and a plain black shirt as well as skinny jeans. Her hair was board straight and looked really soft. Percy softly ran his hand down her hair. It was so smooth, and light. Artemis growled at him and he stopped all of his movements abruptly.

She leaned forward and instructed to take his top off. He did, and she carefully removed his bandages, trying not to bump into one of his bruises. She took the salve and applied it to the gash. She came so close to him that she could feel his breath blowing the hair on the tops of her head.

She smelled like roses, but what Percy identified it as was a sweet, earthy smell. He loved it. It was reserved, and light, not like Annabeth. Percy decided that indeed Artemis was nothing like his blonde companion. Artemis suddenly stopped and placed soft fingers on his chest, over his heart. Percy's chest moved up and down with every breath, but—

Artemis' eyebrows furrowed. "Your heart's not beating."

"What?"

Artemis looked up at him, concern in her eyes. He'd seen that face before, when she asked if he was alright. "Percy. Your heart's not beating. You should be dead."

 **A/N: Hello, readers. Thank you for the time you have given this story, and I am honored that you have read this far. It's amazing that you gave my story your own personal time. Thank you, exceedingly.**

 **Through the Ages will updated soon-ish. Please remember that writing is a side hobby, I have many hobbies (including Netflix. Yes, that** _ **totally**_ **counts as a hobby) and little free time to do them.**

 **Until next update.**

 **Lucky**


	5. Percy's First Christmas

A Great Creation Chapter 5

"Your heart's not beating, Percy." Artemis looked up at him with utter confusion on her face. She knew that he would have some abnormalities about him; he was a _science project_ for goodness sake, and they are faulty, but not _this_ badly. What kind of person _was_ he, as some heartless man? Artemis' hand was kept firm on his chest. Percy placed his larger hand on her own. He felt how warm her hand was, compared to his. Did this happen because he hadn't a working heart? Artemis tried not to focus on that but on holding his gaze. "Why?" She asked. "Do you know?"

Percy let go, but not without sighing ever so slightly. "I don't know. You can ask Dr. Jackson. I am sure he does."

Artemis furrowed her eyebrows together, searched Percy's eyes for something even she herself didn't know, and got up. She had been leaning over him. She grabbed some concealer, the lightest she had, and brought the tube to his face. Grabbing a small make up sponge, so he wouldn't be sharing any germs, Artemis leaned over him once again and wiped it under his eyes. Those dark circles were somewhat ominous looking. When she was done, she gasped.

With the dark circles gone, his green eyes were even more striking, the gold flakes in his blue-green irises stood out more than they had before. His eyes were vibrant, almost _glowing_ with an ethereal light. They were beautiful. But again, they were always beautiful. They were a strong contrast to his pale skin and jet black hair. Artemis smiled kindly and turned swiftly, taking the gauze and then wrapping it around his torso. She tied it off and gave him his new clothes. "Go ahead and change, I'm going to go look up some restaurants we can go to."

She turned around before Percy could remove anything, and then started to search her phone for any restaurants that were as casual as can be. Percy was very pleased to find that the shirt she gave him was blue. He was also incredibly happy to know that his pants were blue, too. He loved the color blue.

Artemis came back into the living room area where Percy was waiting for her patiently. His hair was wild, probably ruffled from when he took his shirt off. Artemis rolled her eyes and grabbed a brush to run through his hair before they left. "We're going to a local Italian restaurant for lunch."

"What's 'Italian?'" Percy asked, watching her as she glared at his unruly hair.

"It's a nationality," Artemis said, grunting as she tugged at Percy's particularly stubborn knot, "And Italian food is a common type of cuisine in America as well as big cities in Europe like London."

"What's London?" Percy asked slowly, raising an eyebrow slightly, although still maintaining a passive expression. _If I weren_ _'_ _t a kindergarten teacher I_ _'_ _d be annoyed with his incessant questioning of nearly everything I say._

"A big city in England," she replied shortly.

"What's it like?"

"It's beautiful," Artemis smiled fondly as she remembered when she lived there. "Definitely some slums, though. It has a nice charm, with such old, classic buildings and innovative modern ones right next to them. A lot of customs there, too. But in London all it ever is there is work, work, work. And you're too poor to afford anything," she chuckled, "Living expenses there are frightening."

"How do you know so much about another city?"

"I lived there for two years," Artemis said, thinking about the memories she made in London teaching there.

"Did you like living there?" Percy inquired, liking very much to learn about a new place.

"I did."

"Why'd you move back, then?" Percy didn't understand.

Artemis grimaced. "I missed home. The taxes were pretty high…and my brother wasn't there, so…"

Percy blinked. She scowled and crossed her arms frustratingly over her chest. "And of course," she sounded miffed, "They _lower_ the damn taxes as soon as I leave. Good _God_. And then all the interesting things happen like political turmoil and—you know what—that's not the point."

"Oh."

Artemis gave him one more look and smiled broadly. He looked good. "Let's go."

They got into her car, and checking that Percy had his seat belt on, Artemis looked behind her so she could see where she was going. Percy watched in silence as the house became smaller and smaller, until they were finally leaving the neighborhood. He watched in silence as the greens and yellows of tree leaves blurred together, and he watched in silence as the water of the local canal glistened like it was made of diamonds in the sunlight. They reached the restaurant in only a few moments, and Percy noticed that it appeared much smaller than Artemis's house, at least from the outside. It was made of multicolored bricks—mainly red and brown. Artemis got out and opened the door.

The inside smelled heavenly. Percy couldn't describe the aroma, all he knew was that it was good. He placed a hand on Artemis's shoulder to keep his balance; he was leaning so far forward. Did big cities in America smell like this? Did _London_ smell like this? Artemis'd said that Italian food was common there. Percy was practically tripping over himself.

A man wearing black slacks and a crisp white shirt smiled at Artemis broadly and directed them to a seat. He glanced at Percy, a faint look of fear in his eyes. Artemis sat down, and Percy sat down next to her. Artemis shook her head and directed him to a seat across of her. "Why?" Percy asked her, confused. Why was sitting next to her wrong?

"It's easier to talk to each other this way."

"Okay," Percy said, and moved to sit across from her. The server gave them their menus and glasses of water. He walked away quickly, bursting into the kitchen and saying something to the cook in rapid-fire Italian. Artemis sipped her water calmly, unbothered by the commotion the waiter was causing—at least in the kitchens.

He watched her closely as she opened her straw and placed it into her glass of water. He copied her movements, and tentatively placed his straw into his cup. Artemis brought the straw to her lips. Percy did as well. She was mid-sip when she realized Percy was copying her. She narrowed her eyes, and, thinking that this was a requirement to utilize this oh-so-confusing glass of water, Percy did as well. Artemis sipped her water all the way and sighed.

Percy, of course, sighed as well.

"Percy. You don't need to copy my movements like a robot."

"What's a robot?"

Artemis felt like slapping herself. "It's a big metal _thing_ that is made by humans and they're creepy and a waste of space. That, of course, is highly debatable, but since at this moment you are impressionable, and have no idea what a robot is, they're a waste of valuable resources, and, therefore, space." She drank some of her water after that.

"Okay," Percy nodded. Robots intrigued him. "Do robots copy things?"

"It's all they do," Artemis said, staring disinterestedly at her nails. Clearly she wasn't very intrigued by robots. Artemis confused him. She was nothing like Dr. Jackson, or Annabeth, or anyone else in the lab. They all hungered, were desperate, _needed_ to know something new, to learn something. She just _knew_. She didn't need to learn. "Artemis knows _everything_ ," Percy whispered in awe. He'd figured it all out.

Artemis's face twisted in confusion. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth curled. "What?" She exhaled on the "wh," making her sound breathless.

"You know _everything_!" Percy said.

Artemis kept her befuddled expression for a few seconds before erupting into laughter. Percy loved the sound, and leaned forward just so he could hear it better. "You should—you—you should—tell my—tell my dad—ahaha—that." She shook her head. "No, Percy, no. I do not know everything. In fact, all of those people you are with in the lab know quite a lot more than I do. You probably know more about science than I do, at this point."

Percy huffed comically. "I hate science."

Artemis smiled at him. He stared in fascination. She was absolutely beautiful, and he wondered again why she wouldn't let him sit next to her. "Me too."

She spent the next few minutes on her phone, making a few phone calls while leaving Percy to his own devices. He played with his straw wrapper, ripping it into little pieces. He used the extra place setting to create a small tower, setting the thin knife in between the grooves of the fork. He used the spoon to support it. The entire time Artemis was eyeing him exasperatedly, while still talking at a quick and smooth pace on the phone.

The server came back with a new set of waters for them and informed them that their food would be right out. Artemis thanked the man and hung up the phone a few minutes later. "Do only what I do," she glared at him, "And _don_ _'_ _t_ make towers with your eating utensils. That is distasteful to do in public—especially with things that aren't _yours_."

"Distasteful?" Percy asked, and gave her a small look of inquiry.

"Inappropriate. Improper. Sometimes as far as rude," Artemis said slowly. "Don't mess with anything—well—don't _touch_ anything unless you see me doing it."

Percy nodded. "Okay."

Artemis sighed. "Okay."

The server returned with two plates of spaghetti. He grinned at Artemis but his smile fell flat upon handing Percy his food. "Thank you," Artemis said, her voice strained, and she giving him too wide of a smile to seem normal to Percy. The server blushed and nodded before running off to the kitchen to speak rapid-fire Italian again.

"Why did his face turn red?" Percy said, not actually caring about the server's reaction to Artemis' stunning smile. Asking about things he didn't understand had become second nature, whether he cared about the answer to it or not.

"It's this thing called 'blushing,'" Artemis began, as she stirred her water with her straw, "And it makes a person's face all red because your sympathetic nervous system signals release of adrenaline and adenylyl cyclase basically tells the blood vessels in our face to use that adrenaline, making our faces all red," she stared at her hand as it moved back and forth. Her lips kept moving, but she didn't seem all _there_. "It happens in embarrassing situations…sometimes situations in which we feel deficient for certain things that are important to the opposite sex…it's a social survival thing."

Percy touched his own cheek. Did he blush?

The next few words tumbled out of his mouth. "Do I blush?"

"No," Artemis said, "I haven't seen you blush. I've not really seen you smile. You don't have the most human expressions."

Percy looked down at his hands. His pale hands.

 _Human_.

That word haunted him. What made someone—a person— _human_? Annabeth had called him a monster. Artemis had told him he hadn't quite human expressions. He was as pale as a sheet. The waiter's fear of him hadn't gone unnoticed. He did not blush, or really smile, or laugh. Percy did not cry like other humans did. The doctors at the lab called Percy "Project #2e." He felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Maybe that's all he was, just a project. But what value was there in being human? He didn't know.

He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Percy knew that it was the ultimate prize; to be truly human. Something told him that humanity could be won and lost: something people fought for. But he didn't know _why_. He didn't understand how he _knew_.

"But," Artemis sipped her water again, "You have a certain…innocence about you that most people don't have. That's somehow…very human." She gave him a small, comforting smile. It was almost as if she knew what he was thinking.

Percy didn't know how she wanted him to respond, so he nodded instead of speaking. Artemis picked up her fork, a small metal thing that had four identical spikes of metal sticking out. Percy thought it looked peculiar.

"You take this, and hold it like the way I'm holding out," Artemis explained, and she stuck it into her spaghetti. "Then, take the long end and keep twirling it until you have this." She showed him her fork, which was covered with neatly wrapped spaghetti noodles. "And then you eat it!" She gave him a huge smile and made a big show of shoving the fork into her mouth.

Percy stared at his fork, and picked it up gingerly after a few moments. Following the movements she told him, he slowly brought the spaghetti to his mouth. It tasted so good, the texture was just right as he chewed the noodles. "Is it good?" Artemis's silver eyes twinkled with an emotion Percy had never seen before. It was a look that he'd seen some mother's give their children. He nodded, before repeating his actions with the fork and having another bite. After he'd gotten a hang of it, he devoured the whole plate in a matter of a few moments. Artemis watched him, her mouth hung open and her eyes wide in shock.

Percy looked up from his plate. "Artemis? What's wrong?"

"The speed in which you eat is—incredible." Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. "Try eating slower next time and you know…actually _enjoying_ the food."

"Okay," Percy said. It took Artemis a few minutes to finish her own food. She asked for the check in advance, before she was finished. They left the restaurant together, with Artemis looking like she was going to throw up.

"Are you alright, Artemis?" Percy didn't think she was alright. She looked very sick.

"Yeah," she said shakily, "I just ate too much. Ugh." She rubbed her forehead and walked with her torso slightly bent to the car. Percy got in as well, and once he was seated in the passenger seat, turned his head to see Artemis looking at him curiously. Once he'd seen her, however, she abruptly focused her attention on the steering wheel.

They drove back home, leaving the Italian restaurant behind.

Page Break

Annabeth paced back and forth by Mrs. Katz's station. She'd been called by Dr. Jackson, and _nobody_ got called by Dr. Jackson. "Calm down," Piper said, placing what was supposed to be a comforting hand on her shoulder. Annabeth shook her head, her eyebrows drew together as if she were grimacing in pain.

"Piper, please shut up," Annabeth snapped. She wondered what he wanted to see her for, but she knew almost for certain that he would talk to her about how she sneaked in at night to see Percy. "You're not getting called to see him yourself." She remembered the look of pity Mrs. Katz had given her. Her lips had been pursed, and she looked pained, as if she didn't want to say—no, _couldn_ _'_ _t_ say—what was about to come out of her mouth. Annabeth knew Dr. Jackson was an unstable man. A _genius_ , unstable man, but an unstable man nonetheless.

"Fine," Piper sighed, and turned away from her, walking away. Annabeth wished that she hadn't been so harsh with Piper, but there was nothing else that she could do. Sighing as well, Annabeth rubbed her forehead and tugged at her curly blonde hair. Adjusting her glasses and her jacket, she headed to Dr. Jackson's office. She used the key card that Mrs. Katz gave her, and headed down the hallway that she was familiar with because of her nightly…break-ins. She found his office eventually and knocked on the door.

Annabeth heard a man's voice inside. "Come in." His voice was stern and controlled, and it scared her.

She placed her hand on the handle and slowly opened it. She saw Dr. Jackson sitting at his desk. The room was big, and white. The walls were white, the furniture was white too, including the chair he was sitting on. The whole room smelled…sterile. Annabeth walked in, wringing her hands nervously. Dr. Jackson was writing on a piece of paper, and a stack of impossibly aligned papers laid by his feet.

"You—You wish to speak with me?" Annabeth blurted out. Dr. Jackson paused in his writing. He slowly looked up to meet Annabeth's eyes. She shivered. _Oh God. His_ eyes _oh my God._

"Yes, my dear. You see, I'm going to have you thrown in jail."

Page Break

Artemis sighed, staring up at the ceiling. She pressed her power button on her phone and gazed at the text Hestia had sent her over and hour ago.

 _Coming over in a little bit. Heard you got fired a little while back. Be there in about an hour._

Hestia was like Artemis' mother. She had always been there when she was growing up. She had a step-mother named Hera, but Hera despised her existence and never said even a word to her throughout her life. After Artemis graduated from college, Hestia only visited every once in a while. Artemis missed her a lot.

She heard a knock on the door and perked up immediately. Artemis hadn't seen Hestia in two months. She hopped up from her place on the couch and rushed to open the door.

Hestia smiled at her as she stepped into the house with bags of her famous chicken noodle soup. The smell made Artemis want to devour it all. Hestia set the bags on Artemis' kitchen island. She turned and gave her a hug, and Artemis adored Hestia's familiar scent of firewood and roasted marshmallows. Hestia had long black hair curled in soft waves that framed her thin but shapely face. Her eyes were dark brown, a familiar and warm brown that made you feel warm inside, and strong, expressive eyebrows. Her lips were a light pink and always twisted in a kind smile. That day she was wearing a form-fitting and flattering brown dress. They were only fourteen years apart, but because Hestia was Artemis' aunt, she took primary care of her while Zeus was off having sex with as many women as he could.

"My dear," Hestia smiled toothily, "How are you?"

"I'm good," Artemis sighed and flopped onto the couch.

"Dionysus told me he fired you."

"Mmm."

"Artemis, what are you doing for money." There was no intonation, it was flat and sounded like a statement.

"I can't tell you."

"Government job?"

"You could say that."

Hestia crossed her arms across her chest and nodded. "Okay then. I'm glad you're making money. Please remember that I can always help you."

Artemis nodded, but the words just went right past Artemis's ears. She was twenty-six now, she didn't need financial help. Even when she was in college, Artemis didn't ask for financial aid. She'd secured plenty of scholarships and worked hard doing odd jobs for tuition. And she paid for her own expenses when she lived in London for that short amount of time. She hadn't asked for money—nor needed money—since she was a young teenager.

"Would you like me to get you a bowl of soup for you?" Hestia asked kindly.

"No thanks," Artemis replied, getting up from her seat and towards the bags of chicken noodle soup. "I'll get one for you instead." She set the containers on the counter, and grabbed a ladle and two bowls. After pouring a small amount of soup into the bowls, she handed Hestia one and grabbed spoons. Artemis sat down at her seat at the dining table, taking a small, tentative sip at the hot broth. It was refreshing, and as she swallowed she felt the warmth pooling at her stomach. Sighing in content, she leaned back in her seat.

"Apollo wants to visit," Hestia stated, sipping her broth and gently blowing on her next spoonful. "He said he's coming all the way from Virginia."

"I'd love to have him over for Christmas," Artemis said, smiling. "Are you staying for Christmas, Hestia?"

Hestia nodded. "I am."

"Would you like to have Christmas at my house?" Artemis asked, tugging on her hair. It was becoming a nuisance again—she'd forgotten to tie it back. Hestia nodded. "Yes, of course I would. I would really love to have Christmas with you and Apollo."

"And also…" Artemis cleared her throat, wondering whether or not she should say her next sentence. "Someone else—someone new—is going to join us for Christmas."

Page Break

Artemis was hesitant to walk into the office building for several reasons. First was that she was not sure what her boundaries were as Percy's mentor and teacher. Second was that she despised Dr. Jackson—he unnerved her—and she hated people that made her uncomfortable and nervous. Not only that, but she'd likely have to speak with Zeus, and she had no desire to speak with him. The less time she'd have to spend with him, the better.

She got out of her car and slowly made her way to the front door of the building. It took a minute for her to find it because she'd only seen the back entry when she brought Percy back after his first day. Artemis opened the door and was surprised to learn that the laboratory was bustling with activity. She wondered what warranted the need for so many doctors in white coats. Some were wearing gloves. The office was loud and alive—there were several conversations near her on the phone and there was a distinct sound of typing. She wondered how many people worked at that laboratory.

Artemis was so lost in watching the traffic in the hallways, she didn't notice someone tapping her shoulder. She shifted her gaze. She met the eyes with a woman with choppy, chocolate brown hair weaved into a pretty braid that framed her thin oval-shaped face. Her cheeks were dusted with pink blush and a smile twisted her lips. Her eyes held hers—and did her eyes change color? They shifted from green to blue in a mere few seconds. Artemis knitted her eyes together.

"Hello," the woman said. "I'm Piper. I've never met you before. But…I'm probably going to have to ask you how you got in."

"Artemis," she replied to Piper, not wanting to smile back at her. "I just—I just opened the door."

Piper tilted her head and narrowed her eyes in skepticism. "They…they took your prints? Okay then. What's your position? I may be able to help you."

Not knowing about the mystery surrounding Project #2e, and that most of the staff didn't even know the project Dr. Jackson was working on was a person, Artemis replied with the truth. "I'm Percy's teacher. I'm looking for Zeus…?"

Piper looked startled. "I don't believe we have a Percy here—such a strange name—but if you're a newbie you can't see Dr. Zeus."

"Look, um, Piper, right? I don't deal with this kind of crap. 'Dr. Zeus' or whatever is my dad. If I need to talk with someone higher up who knows what they're talking about, please show me to someone who can pass to Zeus my message."

"I'm sure Mrs. Katz can," Piper stated slowly, and nodded. "I'll take you to her. She may be able to help."

"Thank you," Artemis said gently, and followed her. She looked up. The lights were bright, and the fact that all the walls and ceilings and cubicles were white. Her eyes hurt and she felt a headache form suddenly. "What's with the bright lights?"

"I'm sure there's a reason," Piper said, not turning back to look at her. "Ask Zeus when you speak to him. I'm sure he knows why it's that way. I'm sure that when you were initiated, you were told everything is the way it is for a reason."

Artemis raised a perfectly shaped brow. Piper sounded like she was following a script almost. "Oh really?"

"You see, Dr. Jackson's a genius. He does everything for a reason."

 _Eccentric, more like_.

"What, are you part of a cult or something?" Artemis asked her with an almost mocking tone.

Piper chuckled without humor. "No, of course not."

She stopped in front of a cubicle that Artemis was surprised she could find. All of the hallways were exactly alike, in never ending columns and rows of cubicles that were not set apart by any personal adornments or name placards.

Piper popped her head into the cubicle. "Mrs. Katz," she said softly. "Someone came into the office—I've never seen her before, but she was able to come in through the front—so I guess she's safe, but she said she wanted to talk to Dr. Zeus."

Artemis felt like she had to interrupt. It was pissing her off she had to go through such formalities and other people just to talk to her father. It reminded her too much of her youth and how he had treated her especially in her teen years. "He's my dad," she said, her mouth felt dry, "And I need to speak with him about something. I don't need your damn permission, just tell me where the hell he is."

Mrs. Katz, a woman with mouse brown hair and thick black glasses gulped and nodded before lifting herself out of her chair and leaving the station to show Artemis the way to go.

Artemis jumped when she heard her phone text notification.

 _Just decorated your house to look more Christmas appropriate ;)_

 _-Hestia_

Artemis rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. Her adoptive mother was amazing. Mrs. Katz reached two large doors and placed her ID card by a scanner and then the doors opened. She inclined her head and pointed towards a door that Artemis guessed was Zeus' office. Artemis thanked her quietly and opened the door without even considering knocking. She'd long since cared about something that was such a time waste. She'd rather be more at the point.

Zeus was glaring as soon as she entered. Without even bothering to look at anything but Zeus, Artemis sat down at a chair in front of his desk.

Zeus sighed through his nose. "What do you want."

Artemis looked him square in the eyes, challenging his cold blue eyes with her even colder silver eyes. "I want Project #2e to come to my house for Christmas. I believe it necessary for my teachings of empathy and kindness to him."

"You're kidding."

"No."

"That's my answer to your question."

"Zeus, I am his teacher and mentor. I believe firmly that the right course of action is to let Percy experience Christmas with my family and me. It may teach him very important lessons about emotions and I know that his Christmas experience here will be…less than pleasant. You must allow this. It's what's best for him." She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to convey every ounce of assertive nature that she had in her body into her stare. Zeus was the first one to break eye contact, and he shifted in his seat.

"I'll think about it."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "God damn it Zeus, it's Christmas Eve. I want him to stay in my guest bedroom and I have clothes for him to change into. I'll take good care of him. I even have a few presents for him. He's like a little kid, he'll love it. You shouldn't deny this kind of thing from him. It's not right."

Zeus made a face and scowled at her.

"Let me speak with Dr. Jackson about this."

Artemis scowled back.

*BONUS PART OF CHAPTER* (not in a lot of detail, and goes kind of fast. You've been warned. I will go back into this part of the chapter and add way more detail, so check on this in about a week if you want to see the full version.)

Percy felt like he was being swallowed in darkness. It was still a feeling that he was familiar with. He laid down on his back. Placing his hands underneath his head, he tried to get comfortable.

And suddenly, the door was opened and light flooded the room. Percy squinted in order to see properly, and saw her outline through the light. He felt himself smile as he raced to her side and gave her a huge hug. Artemis laughed and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're having Christmas with my family and me," Artemis said, her smile wide and her silver eyes brighter than he'd ever seen them before. She looked beautiful. Percy's eyes slipped to Dr. Jackson's, as he was behind her. He nodded slowly in approval and Percy left with Artemis, and on the way Artemis explained to him what Christmas was.

"Christmas was originally created to celebrate the birth of Jesus, an important religious man and founder of Christianity. But now it has fused with Western culture and has become to some time to spend with family and gift giving as ways to show appreciation and love," Artemis said, "Either way, it's an amazing time of year."

They arrived at her house, and Percy saw that her home was covered in green and red lights, each blinking in an array of patterns that made him gasp in wonder. They went inside, and Percy caught a glimpse of a large tree covered in all sorts of ornaments and colors and it was a wonder. Percy rushed to it, staring at it in awe, it looked beautiful.

Artemis introduced him to Hestia and Apollo. Apollo was her brother, a tall blond man with a charming smile, and Hestia was a petite woman with long dark brown hair. Percy was polite to both of them, albeit awkward because he did not quite know how to introduce himself well. Apollo and Hestia were understanding, and Artemis explained other Christmas related traditions such as stockings and mistletoe.

Artemis was walking him over to the dining room table when she stopped abruptly and so did Percy, as he was following her. Artemis glared at Hestia, and she simply grinned back. Artemis turned to Percy, standing on the tips of her toes and she lightly pecked Percy's cheek. Her lips were light, brushing against his skin as softly as a butterfly's wings, but he still felt incredibly warm. As she walked away, Percy's hand flew to cup his cheek.

At the dining table, they talked about everything—how their careers were holding up, drama, and potential relationships. Artemis found herself laughing at the jokes Apollo cracked, and smiling at Percy's antics.

She found she couldn't wait until the morning.

 **Author's Note: Overdue chapter, I know. I kind of can't believe that I haven't updated since August. Sorry this is so speedy. I wanted to have this done before Christmas, and I had about 2,000 words to write. Through the Ages is next!**

 **Anyway, happy holidays! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, anything you may celebrate! Enjoy the season!**

 **Suggested listening: Silent Night sung by Sarah McLachlan**


	6. New Feelings

**WARNING: _Of Mice and Men_ was written by John Steinbeck, not me. Also, Percy Jackson is not mine. There are some spoilers for _Of Mice and Men_ if you are currently reading it. **

* * *

Artemis placed the concealer bottle onto her desk and instructed Percy to lean back. "I've got to apply this makeup to the skin under your eyes," she explained to him when he made a curious face in response to her instruction. "So," she said as she applied it gently to his skin, "we're going to get your hair cut, and then after that I'm wanting to maybe talk to Zeus about taking you to the beach and you can learn some new vocabulary."

"What is a beach?" Percy asked. Artemis tilted his chin to the side, inspecting her work.

She hummed as she put her concealer back into her makeup bag. She sat down and pulled out powder, which she began to rub all over face using a very fluffy brush. Percy thought she looked funny. "Well, it's the opposite of what you're standing on. What you are standing on right now is land. Now, there's this great big thing," her powder snapped shut, and she grabbed a pink palette. Artemis fished around in her bag for an even bigger brush than before. This time, she applied it to just her cheeks. She smiled as she put it on, and Percy was watching her, completely focused on her smile. "And it's made up entirely of water. The water is not like the water you and I drink, it's very salty—"

"Who put the salt in it?" Percy asked curiously. Why would anyone put salt in their water?

"No one put salt in the water, it's just there. You can remove the salt using desalination techniques but no matter," she dismissed the explanation with a wave of her hand. She placed the pink powder palette into her bag. She looked down into the bag and plucked out a box full of different colored palettes. Some were shiny and others glittered with little sparkles embedded into them. Artemis used a much smaller brush than the previous ones to smear it onto her eyelids. "Anyway, moving on. So these big bodies of water are called the ocean. The _ocean_. Percy, what's an ocean?"

Percy furrowed his eyebrows together. The truth was, he had lost interest in what she was saying when she smiled, and had been using all of his attention to watch her since. "Big bodies of water someone put salt in."

"Nobody put the salt in the oceans, Percy," she paused with her brushwork to glance at him. She had applied dark colors to her eyelids, and Percy thought they looked like the colors distracted from the beauty of her silver eyes. "The salt is just there. It comes from different sources; sometimes the salt is from the rivers that flow into them, and other times it's from the rocks on the surface and in the ocean. Now onto your question," she pointed at him with the brush, "the beach is the border between the land and the ocean. It's made of this thing called sand."

"What's sand?"

"Broken up rocks."

"Who broke the rocks? Why?"

"It was the _air_ , Percy."

"Oh," Percy frowned, he still didn't understand, but he didn't want to pester her with his confusion.

Artemis pulled out a pink tube and slid it over her pink lips, making them appear rosy. When she was finished, she placed her makeup bag into her room. She came back into the living room a few minutes later holding the wooden thing with pointy spikes on it. A _brush_ , Annabeth had called it.

Artemis ran a hand through her hair and ruffled it a bit. Somehow, her hair seemed bigger than it had before. There really wasn't much of a difference, though. "Keep your head still while I brush your hair."

Percy followed her instructions as she tugged and yanked at his wild, unruly hair. She talked as she did, going into depth about sea creatures and that they ought to visit the aquarium sometime. "I think you'll like it. The sea also holds a lot of mythical creatures and stories as well. The most commonly known mythical creatures of the sea are called mermaids, or sirens. There's sea serpents and krakens in those tales too."

"What do they look like?" Percy asked as she removed a giant tangle from his hair. He shifted in his seat, leaning against the arm of the couch.

"Mermaids look like normal women, except their legs are fish tails. Sea serpents…well, they're a little too complicated to describe using words. If I showed you a picture you'd know yourself. You know, there's this amazing figure of speech I use a lot. 'A picture is worth a thousand words,' and it means a picture holds a story, or a history to it that can only be described in many words," Artemis looked wistful as she spoke.

"Where did you learn that, Artemis?" Percy asked her, disobeying her order to stay still by turning to look at her.

Artemis' face lost its expression and she lightly turned his head back around to face forward. "My college English professor," her voice became quiet, the only sound in the room, "I'll never forget him."

"Is his story worth a thousand words?"

Artemis smiled softly as she set down the brush at a table beside her. Sometimes, Percy's innocence and mixing of concepts really pulled at her heartstrings.

"Yes. It was."

They left together out the back way, and went into the car. Artemis started the car and backed out of the driveway, looking over her shoulder as she did so. Percy watched in awe as the scenery passed by him in a blend of greens from the trees and the blue of the sky. He saw the canal and his hand pressed against the glass. The crystal water was beautiful, glittering under the sunlight. "You like the water, Percy?" Artemis asked, her eyes never straying from the road.

"I don't know," he replied. He'd never been by large bodies of water. It always perplexed him that the water people drank was clear and that the canal was a deep blue, sometimes green in color. When he asked Artemis, she'd merely replied, "Reflection and light from the sky and algae."

He didn't know what "algae" was, and he was fairly certain light came from the sun, not from the sky. But what did he know? He was stuck in a laboratory for the majority of his days.

"I'll ask Zeus if we can walk together by the canal in the mornings. I go on runs around 5 o' clock, so you better be a morning person," Artemis said, turning slightly so she could give him a quick grin.

"I don't think I am," Percy said. He wasn't entirely sure, but when he was left to his own devices, it was usually late at night when he fell asleep, and he had to be jolted awake by one of Dr. Jackson's team members. He hated waking up.

"Ah, so you're a night owl, are you?" Artemis asked him. She turned on her turn signal, and the car made some odd clicking noises.

"I'm not a—" Percy's nose scrunched comically.

"Figure of speech," Artemis said flatly.

"Oh." It was silent for a few moments. "What does it mean?"

"A night owl is a person that often stays up late at night and doesn't like to wake up early in the morning," Artemis explained patiently.

"That means Annabeth is a night owl!" Percy said, ecstatic that he'd used the figure of speech in his own way. Slowly over time, his vocabulary had expanded, and he was becoming quite proud of himself.

"What makes you say that," Artemis said flatly as she parked the car. They were parked in front of a small building with large, clear doors and windows. Inside, Percy saw racks full of cylindrically shaped objects, all lined up next to each other. Artemis opened the door and he walked in.

"She only comes when it's dark."

The smell was strange inside the small building; it smelled sweet, like candy. But underneath that smell was something musky. Percy scrunched his nose, clearly not liking the smell. "It smells like…" Percy hadn't the word for it. He didn't know how to describe the smell.

"A hair salon," Artemis replied as she approached the front desk. She gave the woman at the front a bright smile. The woman was middle aged, with honey colored skin and dark, black hair. It was straight and fell past her shoulders. A single streak of gray ran down the locks. "Hello, Tessa."

"Artemis," she said brightly, and to Percy it sounded like she sang the word. "Here for a haircut today?" As she spoke, Percy thought of a bird as it sang.

"No, not me. Percy here," she gestured to him. He was looking around the hair salon curiously. "is getting a trim."

Tessa narrowed her eyes and whispered, "Boyfriend?" she watched him carefully as he grabbed a bottle of hair spray and began to turn it in his hand. He was really peculiar.

Artemis resisted the urge to laugh. "No, he's not." She was thinking of what to describe their relationship as. She didn't know what to call them without giving away that she was his teacher. That would likely be violating the contract, though, so she did not elaborate. "Percy," she called him, "Come on. Time for the haircut I was telling you about." Artemis gave Tessa a look. "Good luck with that crazy hair of his."

"It has nice color," Tessa mumbled as if out of obligation to say something nice.

Artemis passed by him, and Percy smiled slightly as she caught her scent; sweet and earthy. He wanted to know what it was, what it was called, or if there was even a name to it, just _Artemis_. Tessa waved him over and she gestured towards a chair. Percy stared at, distrust in his eyes. The last time he'd been instructed to sit in a chair like that…

 _No._

He didn't want to think about it.

But he sat down anyway, because when he looked Artemis' way, she smiled at him warmly. His face felt hot and Artemis' eyes grew wide, though he didn't know why. Tessa placed a warm hand on his shoulder and pushed him back gently so his neck was against a clean, shining white bowl. She picked up what appeared to be a silver hose and warm water flowed out. She washed his hair, and grabbed a clear bottle. Tessa popped it open, poured some of its contents onto her palm, and rubbed her hands together. She moved to stand behind him before massaging his scalp.

Percy turned his head to see Artemis on a seat across the salon. She was the only other person there. Her legs were crossed and she was reading a magazine with a strange looking man on the cover. Why did he have no shirt on? "Turn your head back straight, Percy dear," Tessa sang. Percy nodded then straightened himself, looking up at the ceiling.

It went on like that for a minute or two, until Percy began to get neck cramps. He fidgeted in his seat, and Tessa took that as a sign to finish fast. She told him to sit up and she ran a towel through his hair. "Find the last chair on the right row. I'll be right back." She headed back and disappeared behind a door. Percy nodded, remembering what Annabeth had said about that saying. He found the chair she was talking about and sat down.

There was a huge mirror that showed his face, and only his face. It seemed too big, Percy realized. His hair was wild, going this way and that. Some hair fell over his bright green eyes. When he lifted a hand, the Reflection Percy did too. Reflection Percy's raised hand lightly touched his jaw, and Percy realized he was doing it too. With the dark circles gone, he looked like he had more color to him; more _human_. Somehow, in the course of a few weeks, he had become less pale. His skin had been ghostly white; he was as white as a sheet. But Reflection Percy was not as white as a sheet. His skin was alabaster, still light but it was a darker than before.

He wondered if Artemis noticed like he did.

Tessa returned holding a pair of sharp knives that were somehow stuck together. Percy had seen them many times before; they were called scissors. He had seen them used on him before, during surgeries he had to go through. But she wasn't a part of the lab. Why did she have those?

He decided not to say anything, because when he turned to look at Artemis to see if she was alarmed at all, she had given him a thumb up. "Look forward," Tessa said gently, and Percy obeyed. She brought the scissors close to his head, and

 _Snip_.

A lock of his hair fell to the ground. He watched it fall, and looked back up. He didn't look any different. Tessa kept cutting, and when she finished she brought out this strange looking thing; it had a nozzle at the end and when she turned the switch on it, it made this loud wheezing sound. When she pointed it at his head, a blast of air hit his face.

When she was done, she handed him a mirror which made his face seem even larger. His hair wasn't much different in terms of a cut. His bangs were finally out of the way of his eyes and his hair was brushed. Percy's hair was still wild and all over the place, despite the new cut.

Artemis put down her magazine and walked over to the station. "Great job, Tessa, thank you." She gave Tessa one of her breathtaking smiles, then gestured for Percy to follow her. She stood in front of the register and waited for Tessa to give her the bill.

Percy turned his head to look at her. He wondered if she noticed any difference once again.

"That'll be twenty even," Tessa said, and Artemis nodded, handing her a twenty-dollar bill. Tessa grinned and placed the bill into her register. "Have a great day, Artemis. I'll see you next time."

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Tessa," Artemis said, signaling for Percy to come with her out the door. Percy gave Tessa one last glance, then left the store.

When they were back in the car, Artemis cleared her throat. "Zeus instructed me to teach you a foreign language," she looked toward Percy, and he said nothing. "I'm fluent in a few, but I'm thinking either French or Spanish. I'm not sure which one will benefit you more, though personally I've always favored French over Spanish. It's best we start early so I'm gonna need to start teaching you soon."

"I want to learn French," Percy said, though truthfully, he didn't really know anything about this word "French." All he knew was that Artemis liked it.

Artemis furrowed her eyebrows and frowned. How could he possibly make such a quick decision? Had he heard the language before? "Are you sure?"

Percy nodded, even though he wasn't truly sure. "Yes."

"Okay," Artemis said, "I am going to give you a French lesson for an hour each day, and incorporate French into our studies. You'll be confused at first, but you'll get it later, okay?"

"Yes," Percy said. He always believed what Artemis said. When would she lie to him?

"In French, yes is _oui_ ," Artemis stated, giving him a slight smile. The word _oui_ sounded like the word "wheat" without the "t" sound.

" _Oui_ ," Percy repeated. Artemis laughed at his attempt.

"It's a little faster than that. You don't hold onto the 'ee' sound for quite so long."

"What else are we going to do today, Artemis?" Percy asked curiously. He hoped it wasn't another one of those "study days." On study days, they would just sit in the living room and he would learn all day. He liked it when they went out.

"We are going to study for the rest of the day. And then, I am going to ask Zeus if we can go to the aquarium tomorrow," Artemis replied, and Percy deflated like a balloon. He pouted, and huffed loudly. Artemis chuckled and parked the car into the driveway. "Percy, a lot of people study harder than we do. It's not that bad. Plus, you get to learn about sea creatures tomorrow!"

"I guess," Percy whined. They got out of the car and Artemis unlocked the front door.

"Today I want to focus a little bit on history. We studied Mesopotamia a few days ago, so it's only fitting if we study the ancient Greeks today. The ancient Greeks were actually a topic I absolutely loved while I was in school. To some degree, I think their culture was the height of human thinking. The innovative ideas they had were well ahead of its time and—"

Artemis kept talking, but Percy wasn't quite listening anymore. He sat down at the couch while Artemis grabbed a notebook. She came back and sat down next to him. Percy smelled roses. "Another topic I found absolutely fascinating was their mythology. Just think, they might've been based on real truths, real stories." Percy realized that she was talking about the Ancient Greeks with as much enthusiasm as Annabeth would about science. Artemis began writing on the notebook, explaining how they first started out as separated and spread out. "Most were farmers with large pieces of land, and sometimes it would be miles before the next settlement. Eventually, they were brought together into villages, and then some of those villages turned into cities. The cities developed their own politics and economic systems. In a way, a city was its own state, almost like its own country. They would trade with other cities…"

They continued to talk about the Greeks' political development, and Artemis taught him about Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Ephesus. "Ephesus is my favorite city," Artemis said, her silver eyes bright. Percy learned a lot about Greece and its culture. She showed him pictures of statues and vases from that time period. He thought they looked strange, and very different from what people really looked like.

"Alright. I think that's enough about Ancient Greece for today. We'll cover it a little bit more tomorrow, and then we'll move on to ancient Rome. Which is also one of my favorite topics. And now that you've kind of got a good handle on reading, I'm going to assign to you Of Mice and Men. Zeus wanted me to teach you sympathy, and one of the best ways to learn about others and their experiences is through books. _Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light_. Vera Nazarian," Artemis said. "Reading will really help you gain some perspective and understand lives outside of your own."

"Okay," Percy said. She sighed and got up, closing her notebook. She gave him a small smile, and left the room.

Percy felt something move in his chest upon seeing her smile, and he placed a hand over his chest, his breathing becoming labored.

* * *

 _A few weeks earlier_

"Yes, my dear. You see, I'm going to have you thrown in jail."

Annabeth's whole world stopped, she couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. Her chest felt tight as she gripped her chair's armrest. How could he have seen her? She'd disabled all of the cameras, she couldn't have made such a big mistake. She swallowed down the dryness in her throat, then coughed. "D-Dr. Jackson, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Why—Why am I going to jail? I've done nothing but—"

"Shut up," Dr. Jackson told her roughly. "You didn't let me finish, girl. I'm going to throw you into jail…or you can run some…social experiments on Project #2e. You seem to have become his friend in the course of the past few days you've breaking into my lab. I want to see his reactions to emotional stress. I want to see if he can become emotional, and develop empathy from his experiences."

"I don't—I don't understand what you are trying to tell me, Dr. Jackson," Annabeth said, tugging at her curls. It was a habit she'd had since she was little. It surfaced when she was nervous. "I—I—"

"Would you quit your stuttering?" Dr. Jackson spat at her, glaring harshly. "Just get it out."

"What are you implying?" she asked, proud of herself because her voice didn't waver as she asked him.

"You need to gain his affection, Miss Chase," Dr. Jackson leaned forward in his seat, "And then break his heart."

* * *

 _Present time_

Artemis climbed into the car, then started the engine. Percy came in after, clicking on his seatbelt. Artemis handed him the notebook, which he had to study every night. It was a bulky notebook with folder dividers for six subjects. Artemis had occupied the last folder with big letters spelling **FRENCH**. Percy took it then set it on his lap.

"I'm going to take you to the lab now, Percy. Make sure to study your notebook. You know you're gonna have to start making your own notes soon, right?" Artemis turned a sharp corner, then slowed down in front of a speed bump. Percy thought she was the coolest person ever, since she was able to manipulate such a large entity using only gestures with her hands and feet. When he had communicated this thought days earlier, she'd laughed and told him it was the steering wheel, gas pedal, and brakes that controlled the car, not her.

"Yes," Percy replied. "I'm aware I have to make my own notes soon."

It was silent for a few moments. "Look, I know it's not the most appropriate for me to ask, but I am your teacher after all, and I guess I—" her throat closed up, _I care about you_ , "Anyway, are you doing alright? Has Dr. Jackson…he hasn't hurt you, has he? Not since that last time?"

"Dr. Jackson hasn't spoken to me in days," Percy replied. He didn't miss that he had not called him his father as he used to. After all, Dr. Jackson was not his father. The real Percy was dead. He was not the real Percy. He was the shadow of what the real Percy was supposed to be. "Annabeth has still been visiting."

Artemis wondered what Annabeth really was. Was she his personal caretaker, or a doctor that checked his stats? Were they concerned about his heart problems, or lack thereof? "Tell me about this Annabeth," Artemis told him.

"Annabeth is my friend. She only comes at night."

Artemis furrowed her eyebrows in realization. "Percy, how often do you talk to people?"

Percy shrugged. He couldn't quite understand her reaction. Did she not like Annabeth? Did she even know her? "Often enough."

Artemis' slight scowl become more pronounced. "That's not an answer. Other than me and Annabeth, who do you have social interaction with?"

"A lab assistant or team member from time to time," Percy replied, confused at her obvious concern.

"They can't keep you locked up there. You're only with me for a school day. And most days we're just at my house…I—" it really hit her then. She knew so little about how they treated him at that lab. She knew they didn't take care of his hygienic needs at all, she had to. They clearly didn't care about his social needs either. There were days when he'd come to her sore all over, or bruises or…

Suddenly she felt sick. They were abusing him. _They were abusing him_.

Why?

All Percy had given the world was his kindness and innocence. And all it had given him was pain, loneliness, and abuse.

What could she do? If she reported this to the police, no one would believe her. The government would just take him in and perhaps treat him like the current lab he was in.

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.

She knew what she had to do.

They stopped in front of the lab, and got out of the car. Artemis walked him to the door, where Zeus stood by to pick up Percy. "I'm taking Percy to the aquarium tomorrow," Artemis said without any room for argument. "And the day after that I'm taking him to the beach." Zeus opened his mouth to protest, but there was a light in her silver eyes that told him that this was something she wasn't willing to change her mind about. He knew that look. She rarely used it, but when she did, it was useless to argue against her. "We'll be back by 5 tomorrow. I'll pick him up at 8, we'll study the ocean and sea life a bit before we go." She turned around, but pivoted after a few steps to give him one last glare as she left. Percy watched her as she left, the sunlight bouncing off and highlighting her long auburn hair.

For some reason, Percy didn't want her to leave.

Zeus grabbed his forearm and lead him to his room. He was slightly pushed inside and the door closed behind him. He sat down, and brought his legs toward him. Percy fell into his routine of coming back to the lab and sitting in his room until Annabeth came. In the beginning, he could sit in his room without company for days. But then, as he leaned against the wall, the solitary confinement felt unbearable. He felt like he couldn't wait until Annabeth came. And he dreaded the end of the day when Artemis left him at the laboratory.

Before his creator had his outburst, Dr. Jackson would visit after Artemis dropped him off and they would talk about what he learned that day. Percy pulled out his notebook and craned his neck to read it. He read his notes from the beginning every day so he wouldn't lose any of his memory of previous topics and discussions. He had just finished when the door opened, revealing a blonde angel. The light from outside the door surrounded her like a halo of light. Annabeth smiled at him lightly, then closed the door behind her. The halo of light when out.

She sat down next to him, tugging at her curls. She looked exhausted, her usual flawless complexion paler than usual. There were bags under her eyes, and the usual pink flush to her cheeks was gone. She placed her purse onto the ground.

"Annabeth," Percy sighed, leaning forward to give her a hug. She giggled and wrapped her hands around his waist. They separated after a few moments.

"Percy, you look different," she commented softly. His skin was darker then before and his lips had gained color. His green eyes seemed brighter since his dark circles had become less pronounced as the weeks went on. She wondered what caused the change. Perhaps spending more time outside was causing the changes.

They spoke for a good hour about their days, and Percy went over his notes about the ancient Greeks. Annabeth talked about their fascinating building techniques and she discussed some of her favorite myths to him. He listened with all of his focus. She also spoke to him a little in French, it turned out she knew that language as well. When she spoke, it sounded absolutely foreign and new, but somehow it was beautiful. There was certain elegance to it he couldn't explain. It was a little frustrating that he couldn't understand what she was saying, however.

There was a few moments of silence after Percy said her French was very pretty.

"What is _Of Mice and Men_ about?"

Annabeth frowned. Just a few weeks ago he was asking her to help him with writing his letters and now he was asking her what a classical piece of literature. He must've had a tough teacher. "Did your…teacher assign you to read this book?" It was not the kind of book she'd imagine Percy reading. She couldn't imagine him reading anything, really.

Percy's nod was his only answer.

"Alright," Annabeth said, biting her bottom lip and tugging her blonde hair. She didn't want to ruin the book for him, but she also wanted to tell him because it was one of her favorites and he might not understand it after reading it. Out of the many books she had to read in school, it was a book she understood the most. "It's about these two men. There's one man named George, who is clever, and Lennie, who is…not. Lennie is very, very strong in fact, so strong that he can't control it. But…he means no harm to the world. He likes soft things," she smiled at the fact that it was his one defining character trait, that and he loved ketchup, "But George wants more in his life. Other people in his life want more. They all do. They—They felt lonely and wanted what they _had_ to change; they wanted the American Dream of living off your land and," she looked toward Percy, who looked completely enraptured in the story, "It's about loneliness…the unachievable nature of some wishes, and that sometimes bad things happen to good people."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. This story was not like others he had read or had explained to him. How had he gone from myths and stories made of pictures to _this_? It was unfamiliar, loneliness was not quite a concept he understood. Annabeth took out this black shiny thing—Percy recognized it as her phone—and tapped it a few times. "I have the book on my Kindle app. Would you like me to read it to you?"

Percy nodded eagerly. She began to read, her soft voice lulling him to sleep. The writing was impeccable; detail was in every paragraph, and he could imagine every scene the author presented to him with just mere words. Annabeth had been reading for about thirty minutes. They'd barely gotten past the first three chapters before Percy was asleep against her. She smiled and ran her hands through his soft midnight black hair. That teacher of his had been treating him well. She realized that Percy somewhat shared some traits with Lennie. He perfectly intelligent, but he was different. He wasn't like everyone else. And because of that people had to lock him up and experiment on him daily.

It wasn't fair.

 _Sometimes bad things happen to good people._

And she began to cry. Because she was someone who would cause one of those bad things.

* * *

 **Hey guys, I'm back! I really can't believe this fic is a year old and I've only got 20k written *sobs***

 **Well, these long pauses won't happen again, I promise. Next chapter will be up soon. Through the Ages will be postponed for next month, however. :(** **I am going on a trip.**

 **This story is almost over! After this is over, I have a new project I'm excited to show you guys! The last chapter will have the summary for the next story, so stay tuned!**

 **Signing out.**


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